Emanuella (Ella) Barasso was a fascinating woman who had a great passion, connection and love for dogs throughout her life.
Ella initially kept Pekinese and was known to bring them with her around the world as she resided in various exotic locals as an employee of the US State Department. After leaving the State Department and joining the teaching staff at Harvard University, Ella began to raise and breed Miniature Schnauzers. As a long standing member of the American Miniature Schnauzer Club, she built lifelong relationships with breeders and showman who were also interested in the breed. Ella bred and entered several of her dogs in numerous competitions, and even had the prestigious honor of having her dog, Sterling Apollo Gift (Luca), win an Award of Merit at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show at Madison Square Garden in February 2001.
As Ella became more involved in breeding and showing her dogs, her interest and awareness of health problems within the breed also grew. This interest culminated in a vision that eventually became realized in the creation of the Gray Lady Foundation.
The Gray Lady Foundation was named after one of Ella's dearly loved Miniature Schnauzers. The mission of the Foundation is to create and support opportunities to improve the overall health and the conscientious breeding and quality of life for canines, in particular, Miniature Schnauzers. The Foundation provides grants to support the basic and applied research activities in canine genetics and the study of canine diseases. It also strives to promote the establishment and maintenance of disease databases to support these research goals.