Lucy
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Lucy's Foster Journey - Adopted 11/8/04
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Pertinent Information
2
yr. old Fawn Female
Shelter Surrender
Natural Ears and Docked Tail
Spayed and UTD
Being Fostered in Nassau County, LI
Adoption Donation $250
11/9/04 - 1st adoption update -
Lucy is doing great and she just loves her. She tells her son to "Let's go
to school" in the morning and Lucy runs to the door for her daily ride.
She walks her on the leash daily and Lucy does great.... She has some food
aggression when her boyfriends dog is there but they are working on it and
Lucy is much better.
10/27/04 - Lucy is pending adoption
7/4/04 - Lucy had a GREAT day today! We finally got smart, and replaced her metal crate (which she didn’t seem to like so much) with a plastic one, and although she barks a bit when we first leave her, she does eventually stop. She knows the routine well: I fix her a great, big Kong, filled with liver treats and peanut butter, she runs in the crate, and lays down, waiting patiently for her Kong. Door shut..and we’re out the door. This has made leaving and coming home a lot nicer for us all! We brought Lucy to our neighbor’s home for a BBQ tonight, and she got to run…They have a small yard, but it is fenced in, and Lucy and their dog, Shadow (a female lab), played for about 7 hours! Not kidding…Every once in a while, one would take a break, pass out for a bit, and then start chasing each other again. This was a great opportunity to see how Lucy gets along with female dogs, and her and Shadow did great. Shadow put Lucy in her place when they first met, and they didn’t leave each other’s side for the rest of the night. And the running was so great for Lucy: she really would love a home with a fenced in yard, or at least a place where she can run free!! We also weighed Lucy this weekend: she gained another pound and a half…yippee!!!
6/15/04 - Lucy is doing just
wonderfully. We took her to the dog run a few times, and she loved to run
in circles, at 100 miles an hour..playing chase. She plays pretty rough,
so we didn’t stay too long. We were lucky to take her over a friends who
has a huge fenced in yard, and she ran so much, she finally passed out,
with a ball in her mouth! Wish I had a camera!
The separation issue hasn’t subsided, so we started giving her some
natural herbal remedy before we leave the house, and we have been
wonderfully surprised to see that it works! It has taken the edge off our
Little Lucy and it’s just what she needed. She gets very, very excited
when we get home, so we’ve taken to ignoring her until she is a “good
girl” and sits pretty. It only takes a few minutes and she has figured out
that is what will get her the loving…and then it’s boxer hugs and kisses
for everyone!
We’ve learned to keep all food and beverages off the counter-even if
packaged, because she is a little thief! We had a package of hotdogs from
BJ’s on the counter defrosting today, and when I walked in the room, she
had already downed half the package! Our mistake, and we will be sure to
keep temptations far away from this little princess.
Her belly is much, much better. We stopped the chicken and rice and have
her on a strict food diet, no treats. She’s playing, eating, and has put
on 6 pounds! YIPPEEEE! Won’t you come meet her?
6/8/04 - Lucy has made some
incredible progress in the last few weeks, and has learned in just a few
weeks, what took us months and months to teach our other boxers. She knows
sit and down (with hand signals), as well as stay, although she’s
selective about listening to that one! We’ve started using a pinch collar
for walks, and she does just great. She is learning heel and come as well!
She is a little nervous around loud noises, but responds to reassurance
well. The food and toys are still an issue, and although her and Rory
“hang out” together, they really don’t play together. She’d rather play
with the cat….chase, chase chase! But she’s not out to hurt her, which is
great. Lucy is doing great with the housebreaking, and we just have to be
real mindful of her subtle cues she gives to let her out: she walks to the
door, but if you don’t catch her doing it, she may have an accident.
We’ve learned that crating her is not an option, although we do keep the
crate available, and put her bed in it. She goes in there on her own will,
when she needs some “down time”, and will still sleep in it at night, but
not with the door shut. It seems to be a safe space for her. Lucy wants to
spend every minute, of every day with us, and alone time at home for her
has been rough. She doesn’t like to be separated, and will get into
mischief, so we’re working on taking it very, very slow.
Lucy went to the beach today (probably her first time!) and barked at the
water! It was hysterical….We kept her on a long lead and she ran in and
out, barking her little head off. She’s learning to play ball, and seems
to love the tennis ball being bounced up and down. She gets rather jealous
of Rory’s independence, and every time he swam out to fetch, she would
bark at him like “get back here”.
Lucy just can’t wait to meet you!!!
5/25/04 - Lucy is settling in quite
nicely around here, although she is a bit territorial with her food (not
around humans, but around out other dog). It’s really no wonder, as she
probably had to beg, borrow and steal (literally) for food, by the looks
of her. Just to be on the safe side, we feed her and Rory separate.
Lucy definitely discovered the kitten, but it really is all play, and the
cat just tortures her! It’s hysterical to watch. Her belly still isn’t
quite right, but it really has only been few days. She visited the vet
today, and besides needing to gain a few pounds, got a clean bill of
health. Our vet seems to think she may have been in heat when they spayed
her at the pound, which could be contributing to the upset belly. She was
very good, and sat like a pretty girl while our vet checked her out. She
has become real attached to us: every move we make and she’s at our feet.
Poor thing just wants love! And she thinks she’s a lap dog too-She curls
into a tiny, tiny ball, and sits her pretty self on our lap. It’s
hysterical!
Lucy is learning her commands, and is an incredibly quick learner. She
aims to please, for sure, and responds VERY well to positive
reinforcement, especially using food as reinforcement. We have learned
that Lucy is definitely the dominant dog (as opposed to our boy Rory), and
she has no problem letting him know. He backs down, and walks away when
she gets “in a mood”, and we have taken to just completely eliminating
food and toys when they are together.
We are working on the crate, and Lucy has been able to sleep in the crate
at night, as long as the door is not locked, and she is in the same room
with us. She doesn’t like to be alone, at all, and we’re lucky that
someone is always home with her. The real test will be when we go out.
Lucy is a VERY loving dog, and shows her appreciation in her boxer wiggles
and kisses.
5/21/04 - We welcomed Lucy to our home today, and this petite two year old seems thoroughly relieved to be out of that awful shelter we rescued her from. Lucy slept all the way home in the car, and after greeting our resident boxer boy Rory with a smell here, having a bath (which she wasn’t thrilled about, but did stay in the tub!) and smell there, she settled in for the day. Lucy is quite thin, and appears to have been bit on the shoulder blade. Lucy doesn’t seem to respond well to any commands right now, probably because she is dealing with a bad case of an upset tummy. We’ve started her out on par-boiled chicken and rice, and think with a little time, she should be fine. She hasn’t shown any interest in our little kitten either: which is a nice surprise.
