Meet Lucy

What a sweet face.
Originally uploaded by RenaissanceWomn

Lucy joined our family last Saturday, January 12. I had been looking for a 6-8-year-old female Labrador Retriever, black or yellow (I just have an aversion to chocolate Labs), and came across her picture on the front page of the Labrador Rescue Labs Available list. She was at the Silicon Valley Humane Society, nearly an hour's drive from us. We nearly went down there the previous Saturday, but I called just to confirm that she was still available, and was told she wasn't there: that she was in a foster home.

I was connected to the foster mom and we chatted for a while on the phone. It turned out the shelter had been planning to euthanize her and the foster mom pulled her. What had looked like dog aggression was actually just massive discomfort from a skin allergy and general grumpiness from being in a shelter for two months. The foster mom exposed her to a zillion situations and "Cinnamon" handled them all with grace. She discovered the itchiness and took her back to SVHS for a vet check-up, where Lucy was put on Prednisone, Benadryl, and a duck-and-potato food. Much better.

She was going to be in Alameda last Friday for an appointment anyway, and brought Lucy to meet us at our house. We liked her right away. The foster mom and I talked and talked and interacted with Lucy, and G finally said, "Mom, she's the right dog for us." Yep, she is.

Lucy is about 7 1/2 (about the same age as G!), spayed, and was given up due to a divorce. I can hardly imagine. The only problem I've found with her is that she is an unashamed counter surfer. She's not destructive (except to her own toys), aggressive, or hyper. She is loving, playful, funny, and smart.

What's interesting is to see so much of Max and Maddy in her. She has the sweetness and cuddliness of Maddy (loves to curl up next to me and flop a paw or shoulder onto me), and the quick wit and trainability of Max. She has Maddy's calm and Max's unflappability. It has been such an eye-opener to get to know this dog where so much is absolutely familiar and some is absolutely foreign. But it is all good. She's home.