so. even though we are megasuperexcited about the upcoming rv adventure, there was one really sad consequence to the decision. we had to give up our beloved canine (and sometimes hated chicken murderer).
we went back and forth about what to do. she is 12 years old. and life on the road could be hard. but the biggest thing was her penchant for running away. we can barely keep her from running away with a fenced yard and giant house. how much harder with a box on wheels and 3 kids running in and out. and if she ran into the woods. or onto a highway. or whatever. it would be dangerous. and super stressful and frustrating for us. but still. the decision was hard.
anyhow, our neighbor is a vet and hooked us up (via a golden rescue) with a foster family who wanted an older golden. so, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so on december 30th, we said our tear filled goodbyes and derek took her to the rescue. it was the WORST. i really can say that it was the hardest decision of my life.
anyhow, i wanted to write a tribute post to our sweet girl. so, i dug up some pictures and here i go….
i had begged and begged for a dog from the moment we were married. derek was pretty allergic, but he finally gave in and let me look at some options at the animal shelter. “goldie” was there, just looking despondent in her crate, so at first we passed her by. the other dogs we looked at that day caused derek to break out in a rash, so we circled back to the malnourished golden retriever who just stared blankly ahead. once we took her out, she was a different dog. playing. snuggling. perfect. so we adopted her. side note. we had to wait an extra few days, because they thought she was having an allergic reaction to a bee sting in her mouth because her face was swollen. turns out. that’s just how her face was. big old fat nose and snout.
anyhoooo… here is the day we brought her home. she’s groggy from drugs and surgery to ensure she would never be a mama.
they thought she was about a year old and she weighed in at 30 pounds.
we fattened her up and her body fit her giant head soon enough.
it was pretty clear early on that she had been abused. she was very skittish and terrified of most everyday objects. she HATED her crate, so we abandoned that pretty quickly. she was mostly a pretty good dog.
with no kids, we were all about lucy. we took lots of trips to the dog park, where she had a large following of interested suitors. she loved and still loves to play tug. and gnaw stuffed animals to death.
the sweet girl.
phone pic. snuggles.
oh my. she HATED baths. she looked so pathetic. when she was done, there was dog fur EVERYWHERE.
after a year or so, we moved. and started having kiddos. first isaac.
she was happy to have an extra set of belly rubbing hands.
then anna. the dog lover.
i used this pic as inspiration for a painting. 🙂
anna loved to snuggle up with lucy.
lucy obliged.
and finally hazel. who, sadly won’t probably remember her. 🙁
i took these last two pics on the morning we said goodbye.
some last tugging.
it was a super sad day and i hope that she is happy in her new home and that someone spoils her to death. i sent a letter with contact info and some details about our girl, but i haven’t heard back from anyone yet. i would love to stay up to date, so i hope to hear something soon.
so, that’s the tale of lucy lou.
i miss her so much.
even though she killed about 20 of our chickens. 🙂
I miss Lucy too. I liked her a lot. She’s cute.