We had to put Lucy to sleep today. She was getting weaker each day and hadn't been able to stand for a day and a half. It's such a hard decision--when would she want to go, what is her quality of life. Especially since we want to keep her with us as long as possible. I am in LA, so I participated by videophone. I'm glad I got to be there. Lynn, a vet tech from Riverbend Animal Hospital, came to our house to administer the drugs. Lynn frequently house sits for us when we're out of town and loves Lucy tremendously, so it was great to have Lucy surrounded by love as she died.
Lucy lived with us for 8 years. She came to us because I got a call from a woman I know who volunteered with an animal rescue organization. She told me that someone had tied a pregnant dog behind their house with no food or water, and had moved. They needed to find a foster home for the dog to have her puppies until they were old enough to find homes and the rescue organization would find homes for the mother and the puppies. If they didn't find a home by the next day, she would be put to sleep.
We had 3 big dogs already, but because we always rescued dogs, we hadn't had puppies. It sounded like fun. Liz and I made a solemn vow that we wouldn't keep the mother or any of the puppies. I didn't have any fear we'd keep the mother--she must have something wrong with her to be abandoned the way she was.
The next day, a woman from the rescue organization came over with the mother. It took seconds for us to fall in love with her. She was engaging, liked people, just a great dog. What sealed the deal was when the woman had to get some paperwork out of her car. Lucy followed her to the door and stood on her back legs to see where she went. Lucy had known this woman for a half hour and was already bonded to her. Liz and I looked at each other and that was that. When the woman came back, we told her we were keeping Lucy.
Lucy gave birth to 9 puppies two weeks later. Despite the short time she knew us, she completely trusted us to help her with her babies. Liz took each puppy as it emerged, helped with removing the balloon surrounding each one, let Liz dry them off, and let Liz bring the runt back to life. We couldn't get Lucy out of the house for a day and a half--she wouldn't leave her puppies. Finally, we had to put all 9 puppies in a cat crate and take them outside to get Lucy out. I've never seen a dog eliminate so much at one time.
We found homes for all 9 puppies. The hardest or us was the runt, Charlie. We cried so much when the person took him, she asked if it was ok she was taking him. A couple of months later, she called us and needed us to take Charlie back--her other dogs kept beating him up. There we were with 5 dogs, but we weren't giving him up again.
Lucy's been a great companion for 8 years, an integral part of our lives. We'll miss her presence, and are thankful for the circumstances that brought her to us.
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