Christmas week update on Lucy from Mami & Papi

Dear Marissa;

Nice to hear from you. LUCY IS FINE; we bought her a xmas gift of a new harness and a lighted leash. Much easier to put on and walk her.

She did an amazing two things: first she came to us and barked a low voice and then put her tongue out and in: she wanted a snack.

Second: When I started to close the kitchen door, Lucy place her paw on the edge of the door and actually curved her paw around the door and started to re-open the door.She is very intelligent.

LATER we were talking in the kitchen and she decided she wanted to play: she took a toy in her mouth and insisted we play by constantly pushing the toy onto our laps.

Anyway, we are enjoying her company.

Give the children and Alexia and Octav a big hug and kiss and tell them we are anxiously looking forward to their visit.

Enjoy your visit with Stuart.

Papi und Mami

My first Christmas with Lucy - December 2008

Well, technically, I won't be spending Christmas with Lucy, rather with her in my life.

She is really spending Christmas "week" with her "grand-parents," who are more than happy to have her there. My mother even said, "Having Lucy is the best Christmas present we could have!" That was really sweet.

I do hope that she listens and behaves well while I am away visiting my sister up in Michigan.

Just after Christmas, my sister and her family are coming down to North Carolina and will meet Lucy for the first time. Of course, they have seen more than enough photos and video clips. Only my nephew Alexander has met her, back in July (see photo of him and her in 1 of those postings).

My first birthday celebration with Lucy in my life

December 14th 2008

This was the first birthday in my life that I had a dog in my life. Lucy has grown to mean so much to me.

On Saturday December 13th, I had an evening planned out with friends. Saturday was Stuart's birthday! So our outing was partly for his birthday - the beer tasting portion - and partly for mine - going out dancing. The next morning, after our breakfast, Lucy examined the birthday gifts by the door. I'll have to upload a cute pic I took of her doing this.

Sunday December 14th, the actual day of my birthday, we were lazy around the house, even napping in the afternoon. That evening we went with Stuart over to my parents' house for a "Birthday Dinner". Lucy got to join in the festivities. I think that's the evening she helped herself to her Christmas present. It was in the kitchen closet at my parents house. She can open that door and is highly motivated too because inside are her treats and food! So, Lucy got to play with her squeeky green plush toy frog all evening. We heard the sqeeking noise as she chewed happily on it. As usual, she was smiley and adorable.

Cleaning up poop on the floor, slipping on ice & dropping the leash...all before 8 am

This morning with Lucy was quite an adventure.

At about 8am, I heard some whining and I felt guilty for sleeping in, eventhough it was a weekend morning. I grabbed my robe and made my way to the kitchen. I opened her crate and snuggled hello on the couch as we always do, but she ran to the door and whined. I realized she had to go out and immediately. I pulled myself off the couch to reach for my sneakers, but it was already too late. She crouched down and pooped right there, as I was trying to reach her to say no, grab my sneakers and the leash. The smell was horrible, but I knew I had to take her outside first before cleaning it up because I sensed more would - she had a watery stool, otherwise known as diarrhea.

Abandonning the idea of getting my sneakers, I just grabbed the leash and went out on the icy porch in my slippers. Lucy, in her usual fashion on the way out the door, tugged hard. This time, however, I slipped on the icy porch and landed on my butt on the ground and hit the edge of the porch hard with my lower back. While hitting the porch, I dropped the leash in reaction to the sharp pain in my back, and off went Lucy running ahead happily into the neighbor's yard.

For a moment, as I lay, in my robe and slippers on the ground outside next to the porch, I wasn't sure I could get up. I worried that I hit my lower back in the same place where I injured it last year. After a deep breath of a pause, I knew I could and had to get up to get Lucy.

As it would be impossible to ever actually outrun Lucy, I walked slowly towards her and tried to make it a game. First I kicked the basketball to my right, so she'd have to run past me to get it. That was a no go. Then she ran further up the hill, next to the neighbor's porch. She was smelling the other dog's green plastic ball. I grabbed a stick and called her name and threw it to my left. She paused, and I smiled as much as I could and said happily, "Get it! Get it!" and she was off in bolt. She ran so fast past me to the stick that I almost missed her completely. I tried to grab her collar, but she slipped through my hands. I took the desperate measure of just lunging hands sprawled onto the wet ground where her red leash trailed behind her. Covered in mud, my hands finally clasped Lucy's leash. I let out a huge sigh of relief, which I could see as it was some 20 degrees outside.

After all the excitement, I actually walked her around a few minutes. She had diarrhea again, poor thing. Finally I walked back to the house, where I had left the back door open to avoid the horrible smell of her poop from saturating the living room forever. I asked Lucy to go into her crate and she willingly complied. Then I had to clean up the mess. I dry heaved a few times as I used 2 plastic bags and a few paper towels to clear up the mess. I couldn't figure out how such a small amount of poop from a small dog could have such a putrid and strong smell. I had to run outside in the freezing air to stop myself from getting sick. I placed the two offending plastic bags as far from the house as possible to remove later. Then I wiped down the floor with windex and sprayed the room with Fabreze. Thankfully, Stuart was still asleep. He has a strong sensitivity to smells and I worried that this would upset him.

After the clean-up, I was wide awake and opened Lucy's crate so we could cuddle on the couch a bit. She was running around, so I decided to go ahead and give her breakfast. Since I ran out of rice, I decided to give her a small amount of her regular dog food. I placed her bowl on the ground and to my shock, she didn't come bounding into the kitchen. I called to her and showed her the food. She danced away infront of the back door to the porch. "Oh, no, " I thought. Suddenly it dawned on me that Lucy was feeling sick again and had to go out. This time, I did get my sneakers on in time and rushed outside with her, trying to avoid slipping on the porch. Within a minute, she had her diarrhea again.

I walked her around another 5 minutes or so to ensure she was feeling better before going back in the house. Once inside, she seemed a bit lethargic and just laid in a patch of sun.

At about 3pm, we took her for a short hike in a near-by park, and Lucy was herself again. Her tail was wagging, and she eagerly sniffed everything. We went out and bought some more rice and gave her a bland bowl of rice for dinner. I really hope that she feels better tomorrow. If not, I'll take her to the vet, or at least call. My mom thought that Lucy may have eaten something in her garden, as Lucy loves to dig and eat just about anything. I really hope that that's all it is.

Lucy plays B-Ball at Thanksgiving!!

In case the embedded link doesn't work, you can go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBH0RIMM0aE

Taste test of dog food by Lucy

Image 1: We laid out the four brands of dog food.


Image 2: Lucy inspects what we are up to. She smells food.


Image 3: Lucy sees the four small plates of food, but the taste test hasn't yet started. She had to be a little more patient.




Image 4: We set out the 4 samples of dog food in order (like we had on the kitchen counter), while keeping Lucy eagerly awaiting in the kitchen.

Once we let Lucy into the living-room, I video-taped her response. Check it out:




Moral of the story:

Lucy will eat anything.

And if you do a taste test with a dog like Lucy, she will just eat in order from left to right, making the taste test essentially irrelevant. At least she enjoyed it.

6 month anniversary since Lucy's adoption

So, after 6 months of having Lucy in my life, we are starting to get into a routine. So, the "firsts" for the blog are not pouring onto the page. Instead, we are settling in happily together to a routine of me waking up in the morning, letting her out of the kitchen, snuggling on the couch while we are both half asleep and then slowly starting the day. Once I eat breakfast, I feed Lucy and then we go for our morning walk before work.

Her lunch time walks have become penciled in weekly into my planner. Mondays I usually bring her to "Omi & Opi's" house, Tuesdays a friend has been stopping by and the rest of the week I wing it - either dropping her off at my parents house, sometimes having Stuart take Lucy for the day and sometimes I take her to the office. Lucy loves going to the office!

I have interviewed a professional dog sitter, Lisa. I do feel comfortable with her, but I like the flexibility of not having to schedule things in advance. Sometimes I just want to bring her to work or take her over to Stuart's house. So, I haven't hired Lisa yet. I think I will.

In the evening, I really look forward to her smiling face and wagging tail as a warm welcome home. Our evening walks are more exciting than relaxing, but the fresh air is nice. Walking does relax me too, even if it is behind Lucy dragging me to get close to some squirrels.

So, after 6 months, would I do this all over again? (Adopting Lucy, I mean). The answer is a whole hearted yes. She has added so much joy and fun to my life. After a stressful day, there isn't anything quite as wonderful as her resting her head on my lap to ask to play or her dropping her latest toy at my feet inviting me to play. Sometimes I wish I had Lucy's ability to simply be present and enjoy the moment. Perhaps dogs really have something to teach us, and not just the other way around.

Cheers to 6 months & to the great dog that now graces my life - Lucy!

Lucy's Interview at Camp Bow Wow

Friday September 12th 2008

I brought Lucy to Camp Bow Wow for her "Interview" on Friday. At first, things were a little tentative. Josie, the "interviewer" took Lucy into a play area to get to know her one on one. Then she introduced her to the "interviewer dog" and Lucy got nervous and was too forward with him. Then, Josie told me afterwards, she thought to give Lucy just a few minutes in the group of small dogs off leash. She said that to her relief, Lucy sat on her feet and next to her for a few minutes nervously. That was a better reaction than lunging into the crowd of dogs too aggressively. After a few minutes, she encouraged Lucy who carefully ventured into the group.

All this took place while I nervously waited in their front entrance room. I hoped that Lucy would do well. Once I got the good report, she encouraged me to go off to work and if I were curious, to check out their web cam. I could barely stop staring at throughout the day! Here are pics I took from their web cam below:

#1 - Lucy is on the upper right hand corner. It's hard to spot her on the web cam, but she's the dog with the bushy white tail that curls & the black ears:




















#2 Lucy is on the right side of this photo and seems to be greeting the black dog that is resting.




















#3 I think Lucy is in the top right hand corner - the blurry white tail is probably her tail wagging. She seems to be interacting more.





















#4 Once again Lucy is in the right hand corner. As the day progressed, I noticed that she socialized more with the dogs. But at 2pm, she still hadn't walked over the plastic yellow bridge.





















#5 I took this image of the web cam at about 5pm. Lucy had finally adventured out of her corner and onto the yellow bridge. Below she stands on top of it surveying the view.




















At the end of the day, I excitedly drove back to Camp Bow Wow. I was happy to see an excited and happy Lucy greet me. The lady behind the counter handed me an adorable certificate that stated, "Lucy is now an official camper at Camp Bow Wow" as well as a "report card" which stated that she had a buddy named Toby. It turned out the Toby is an 8 pound ShizShu dog and was her buddy.

I was surprised that she wasn't tired. "Just wait til she gets into the car," said the lady behind the counter.

Boy, was she right! Lucy hopped into the car and was eager at first. In just a few minutes, I caught Lucy in a full snooze. That night she tucked herself into bed at a very early 8.30pm! I swear I saw a smile on her little face.

Here's Lucy all tuckered out:














Lucy's "Report Card":

Lucy's first bath

We took Lucy out to her grandparents' back deck, filled up a plastic baby pool with water and introduced her to it. She was hesitant at first, but we waited and gave her some treats. She reluctantly craned her neck over the edge to get the treats that we had tossed in. Finally, we picked her up and put her in the water. Don't worry, it was only a few inches deep.

We gently wet her fur with water using 2 small watering buckets and massaged the dog shampoo in her fur. She didn't look that happy, but was calm and stayed still. I kept praising her and gave her treats when I could. Here's Lucy all lathered up with doggie shampoo:


Once we were done, we didn't hose her off, for fear the water pressure would be too strong and scare her. Instead, we gently washed off the suds with the watering buckets. Once out of the "bath", Lucy was dried by a few shakes and few rubs with a towel. Her fur looked brighter and she smelled so much better. Her white fur looked so much whiter.


I was trying to really be in the moment and focus on how she looked and felt, but this big black labrador came prancing by the backyard and Lucy almost jumped from the deck to go chase it. So much for her savoring her first bath. I got a few snapshots of the bath time.



Lucy earning a much deserved treat for her good behavior at bathtime:

Lucy's favorite (and almost indestructible dog toy)

Lucy's pink spot on her forehead.

Lucy has this pink area on her forehead. I noticed it about 10 days ago and figured it was some sort of allergy. I then observed her more carefully to see if she were uncomfortable or itchy. However I realized that she was not scratching it, so it was probabaly not an allergy. Thankfully I decided to take her to the vet, especially after the lady with the German Shepherd commented on it and how it was so close to her eye. She was right - it was something. The Vet said that it was an infestation of mites that she might have picked up in the garden in one of her digging escapades. She instructed us to give her drops on her tongue 3 times a day. I also got a 3 day package of granules something to put on her food to ensure that she does not have any remaining ring worms. She had ring worms when I adopted her back in April, despite having received a clean bill of health from the aspca.

Anyhow, Lucy is overall very healthy and happy. I love her expressions and the twinkle in her eye. This week was very exciting for her and for me as well as my nephew Alexander was visiting. He is just in love with Lucy. It's "Hello lucy!" when I stop by my parent's house to visit, not "Hello Marissa!" But that's okay with me. Lucy loves the attention. She loves playing fetch with him and even wrestling a little. I have consistently reminded him that "Lucy is not a large dog like Katie" (their German Shepherd) and to "not grab her by the collar".... I took a few great snapshots of Alexander with Lucy. Here are 2 cute pics:

2nd dog training video clip

Okay, I can't help it, so here goes. I'm going to upload the 2nd "dog training" clip of Lucy. This time Stuart was the director and I was in the role of "trainer":

Lucy's 4th of July weekend!

Lucy spent July 4th weekend at her Omi & Opi's house. I was visiting my sister and helped her & her daughter set up their own Dogster page for their German Shepherd, Katie. Lucy has a page there too. It's a cute site for kids and my niece really enjoyed setting up Katie's profile. Join the Dogster community

Of course, we got to see some fireworks too.
In the mean-time, the "grand-parents" were delighted to have Lucy as their "guest". Papi emailed me an adorable summary of Lucy's 4th of July:

Dear Marissa,

I was reading the New York Times when Lucy came to me and jumped up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I asked her to sit and she did.

As I turned the page of the news paper she took a bone and began to bounce it near me causing a lot of noise. She did this a few times and then jumped on me causing the newspaper to drop. SHE JUST WANTED ATTENTION and she won me over. I then played with her and after awhile he sat down on my feet and permitted me to read my paper.

A few minutes later she brought a small towel to me asking me to play again. Finally I stopped reading and played with Lucy.

Lucy received her first mail package of sample food addressed to Lucy yesterday send to our house, her second home.

That's today's scoop.

Papi

What his email doesn't mention is how Lucy dug a two foot deep hole in the backyard and when it rained, which it did a lot over the 4th of July weekend in North Carolina, Lucy got herself covered completely in mud from head to toe. I wish that they had taken a photo. There is one - taken with actual film - that only shows her paws like that. Perhaps I'll scan it in so I can upload it here. She looks like she's in 7th Heaven, with a slightly mischevious look. I was surprised that my mother wasn't upset about the garden incident. I think that she too is just charmed by Lucy like the rest of us.

Lucy's first run - June 27th 2008

Stuart was "dog-sitting" that day and took Lucy for her first run with him. He wrote to me:

I just got back from taking Lucy for a run - she immediately plopped on the floor when we got in and she is currently she is lying on the cool floor panting away. We went about 2 miles (some of it was her taking me for a run) and she had fun - her ears were back most of the time as if she was concentrating on keeping her feet on the trail - her tongue was dangling out of the side of her mouth for most of the run also.

After the run we walked for another 1/2 mile or so where she stopped to say hello to two little girls and watch the turtles & ducks with them. She was still alert enough to try to chase some squirrels;but one pull of the leash immediately took her attention back to the run. We did a little trail running where Lucy got to show her agility skills. We also got to put your doggie water bottle to use after the run as well.

Lucy says woof!

Lucy - dog tricks video

Is there an indestructible dog toy?

Trying to find the indestructible dog toy that's interesting is, well, very difficult.

Exhibit A: The items/toys that Lucy chewed through in one morning at my office:

It's a struggle keeping an Austrailian Shepherd/Jack Russell Terrier Mix occupied and interested in a toy;really it is. The Kong, at first, was brillant. I'd stuff it with treats and at first it took her a good 10 or 15 minutes to figure it out. That lasted about 2 weeks. Now she can wriggle those treats out of it in like 2 minutes flat...or less. Perhaps I need to find some softer treats and use more peanut butter to make it more difficult.

Then there are the stuffed toys that squeak. She *loves* those but destroys them in minutes of aggressive chewing and playing. Today at lunch I bought her a little soft stuffed toy for dogs. She went crazy for it. I could even leave my office door open and nothing could take her attention away. But then I heard a ripping sound. It lasted a good 5 minutes, more than most, but then I had to take it away from her. She was upset. I tried to distract her with this new "indestructible" chew toy - Hard Core Fire Hose. It's a red stick with a squeaky interior. She liked it for a minute or two but got bored. She wanted me to play fetch with her, which I can't do while at work, at least not well and it's distracting.

Why I love my vet & Lucy's first tick

What other vet would take a close look at Lucy's paw and site of a former tick and not charge? Well, my wonderful vet did that today! Dr Smith even told my mom, who was dog sitting Lucy, that it "was a pleasure to see Lucy." Gotta love Four Paws animal clinic!

The other night I did my first tick extraction from Lucy. I flipped through all my dog books I have but none of them had a section on "tick removal", only "tick prevention," so I googled the phrase, 'tick removal' and to my surprise came up with an amazing amount of results. I clicked on a few and found one that warned to wear clothes, get the tweezers as close as possible to the base of the tick, pull it out slowly, put the tick in a jar with alcohol and then possibly flush it. The article warned against sqeezing the tick, as it might regurgitate into the dog. Yuk. So, i was a little nervous about my first tick extraction. I gave Lucy a yummy flavored chew toy to keep her occupied and after one or two misunderstandings and having to chase her around the livingroom, I got her in the bathroom floor calmly chewing away. When I finally got the tick between the tweezers, I was afraid to pull too hard and worried I might pull some hair too and hurt Lucy. So I pulled gently, but nothing happened. I had to really put some muscle into pulling that tick out and maybe I put too much in. I had a tiny snap and realized that I did remove the tick, but left in it's sharp stinger thing. I exhaled and hurriedly put the tick into the glass jar that had some nail polish remover in it. I didn't have any rubbing alcohol so I used that instead. Then I swabbed the area with hydrogen peroxide to remove bacteria and tried to pull out the remaining part, but it was too deeply embedded in her skin. I decided to leave it and bring her to the vet in a few days if it looks infected. That online article warned that if left in the skin of the dog, that part of the tick can cause a secondary infection. I feel like I need a first aid class asap to take good care of Lucy.

Anyhow, Lucy was calm and collected about the whole tick extraction, which was great. I was relieved that we were able to have the vet take a look at her. She sprayed some anti-bacterial stuff on the site and said that Lucy's paw was alright, but that she might have some allergy. She told us to watch it and possibly give her some Benadryl (or generic in 25 mg) if it gets worse. I'm not a fan of taking meds if not absolutely necessary, so I think I'll pass for now.

I'm just glad that Lucy is alright. On my to do list is "first aid kit compilation" so that next time I have all the tools I need. A friend mentioned a "tick extraction tweezer for humans" that I could buy at Whole Foods. I might check that out.

The Big Day - Adoption Day journal entry...

April 10th 2008 - Thursday - Day 1

This was the BIG DAY! I actually went to work Thursday morning but my mind was on fire with one thought, "Today I'm adopting my dog! What should I name her? What time is Stuart meeting me at my office? What do I have to do today before I adopt my dog? What should I name her? I can't think straight. It's almost time to go time to go get her Lucy, Lilly or Lorelei!"

At 11.45 Stuart showed up at my office. He also wanted to pick up his fish tank which was at my office. Given how riled up I was, heart pounding, barely able to think straight, his calm and slow approach to unplugging the fish tank and chatting with me made me feel like I was in a high speed warp and he was in another slower dimension. Needless to say, I was a tad short with him and asked him to hurry up, "because I'm so excited I can't think straight."

Once we hit I-40, I think I drove like 75+mph because the clock was ticking and I had a date at the pound to pick up Lucy at 12 noon sharp. Granted, the dog didn't know that and the pound wasn't going to let someone else adopt her, but I felt overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to get there. We had to stop by my house for a few minutes to have him place the fish tank into my kitchen. *Exhale* I actually checked myself out in the mirror and considered changing out of my jeans and black short sleeved polo because I wanted to look good on that big day, especially considering that we were going to take a ton of photos. But I decided that I looked good enough and just wanted to get there.

When we drove up Municipal Drive, I was once again struck by the strange barren landscape of an unpaved road and areas of cleared trees, dirt and random broken large steel equipment. It looked like more of a garbage dump or industrial waste area than the local animal shelter driveway. Once we turned the corner, we entered the steel gated compound of two 70's style metal one story structures. I parked and smiled at Stuart. "Are you ready to be a doogy mommy?" he asked. I smiled, "I'm totally excited!" We agreed that once we picked her up, we'd take a long walk around the shelter and likewise take her for a long walk around my neighborhood before taking her into my house.

We arrived at the front desk at the shelter and I saw a white board behind the desk, " 12 noon - adoption". And I was excited to see that and felt a tad guilty that we were half and hour late.I was so excited to see "Kola" again that I was disappointed by the 6 pages of forms and discussion of dog diseases and viruses that were all literally Latin to me. I tried my hardest to listen. Stuart was distracted by the other dogs and the barking and was peering through the adoption window. "Stuart, can you come over here and listen too?" His mind was like a sponge and I wanted to make sure that at least one of us could actually process and remember what the shelter was telling us. He stood behind me and rubbed my back. It felt good. There was a form to fill out for the microchip manufacturer. It had the blank line, "dog name" and I was torn. Stuart encouraged me to finally pick one of my three names I'd been thinking about all week - Lucy, Lilly and Lorelei. "I'm leaning towards Lucy," I finally said. Lilly was my father's pick. Lorelei was my sister and mother's favorite. Stuart wanted me to name her Kayla, but I didn't like it. My mom had even suggested "Kela" as a female version of her last name, but I was convinced that someone in the dog park would think I'm yelling, 'Come here killer".
"Lucy," I said. "I wanted to name her Lucy even before I adopted her, I just wasn't sure."
"Well that's what you should do then."
I filled out the form. Pet name Lucy. The theme song for "I love Lucy" ran through my head as did the image of her name on a red heart dog tag. Lucy was the final contender. Finally, after what felt like hours but was actually about 15 minutes, the shelter rep said that he'd go "get your dog." I think I jumped up and down and clapped like a little girl. Stuart raised an eyebrow at me and smiled. "I know, I'm acting silly, but I'm so happy."

Then we heard barking. I mean guttural loud aggressive barking. "That couldn't be Kola,Lucy, could it?" Just as I said that, she came barelling out of the adoption area like a high speed train and barking. "Oh no, I thought. I hope I didn't just adopt a Marley?" The shelter guy seemed to read my thoughts. "Don't worry," he said, "all dogs get very excited after getting out of the shelter. A long walk would be a good idea." Before we left, I asked Stuart to take a photo of Kola with the shelter guy, whose name I have now forgotten already. It was a cute snapshot, except that he had to basically hold her up since she wouldn't sit still on her own.

The moment he handed me the lease I felt was momentous. This was not only the moment I had waited for all sleepless week, rather a moment I'd waited for my entire life. I'd always dreamed of adopting a dog.

We walked her around the gravely parking lot and tall grass areas. I definatly stepped in some stinky poop. Kola was barreling ahead of us. We finally got her to stop using some treats so we could take a few snapshots too. First Stuart took a few of me and the dog and then I took a few of them walking. It was heard since she was so wiggly.

After about half an hour we headed towards the car. Kola dropped on all floors and acted terrified of the car. I'd thought of a lot of potential problems - most of them involving house training and chewing. But fear of the car wasn't something that I'd considered. "Just pick her up," Stuart said. I sighed. I didn't want to force her to do anything. I three in a few treats. I think she actually walked backwards. It was the only way. I picked her up and plopped her in the back seat. I was so worried about calming her down that I asked Stuart to drive so that I could sit in the backseat. She was clutching the edge of the car seat with her paws. When I slid into the car next to her, she crawled towards me and place her head in my lap. I was already in love with her and I'd only adopted her less than an hour earlier.

"How's she doing?" Stuart asked from the driver's seat.
"Good. She's scared, but she's got her head on my lap and I'm stroking her." I felt like I'd just adopted a child and was leaving the hospital. All I had thought about all week was Kola and how I'd take care of her, when I'd walk her, when I'd feed her, what I'd do about issues. I tried to learn as much as I could the past weeks about dog training. I borrowed about 5 books on dog training and listened to a DVD set in the car "the loved dog method" - which was my favorite. I was determined to not only take care of Kola, but to train her with nice manners too. And right away.

Once we arrived at my house, Lucy seemed a little calmed down.

Before I adopted Lucy - the week before jitters

The week before I adopted Lucy, she, well, "Kola" was all I could think about. Here is the doggie journal entry that I wrote at the time:

Today: Wednesday April 9th 2008:

This is the last day before I am "with dog", so to speak. I know logically that adopting a dog is nothing like adopting a child, but emotionally I am so excited and anxious about it that it feels somewhat similar.

I feel that tommorrow at noon, my entire schedule and lifestyle will change dramatically. I bet that's how an adoptive mom or expectant mom feels about the delivery day.

All week, I have been toying with names. Monday, after a sleepless night freeting over whether to adopt "Kola" or not, I decided I _had_ to. Monday at 11 is when the shelter opened, but I had an 11 am customer visit. During that meeting, as our engineer gave a technical presentation, everytime he said something I somehow managed to link it to dogs. For example, "this can be used to fetch the data from the server." My mind mangled that phrase into "the dog could fetch the data, or paper." It went on like that for an hour. My mind struggled to concentrate but all I could do was imagine some happy go lucky couple visiting the shelter and choosing to adopt "my" dog Kola. At noon, I was praying we'd wrap up the meeting. I rushed back to my office and dialed the shelter. "This is it," I thought. The line was busy. I hung up and redailed. I did it again and again and again. I couldn't believe my luck . The line was endlessly busy. This was a snafu even my worried mind hadn't imagined. I dialed with my cell phone, as if that would matter. But suddenly I heard, "hello" and I felt a huge sigh of relief. Not only did I pay the $15 adoption reservation fee, I paid the entire $112 adoption fee. I didn't want to take any chances. I asked to pick her up Thursday at 11am. The lady seemed confused on the phone if Kola were spayed or not. I assured her that I saw the scar and that she had been. It reminded me of talking to hospital staff when they lost my father in the recovery room for half an hour. Anyhow, she was able to finally find the right chart and yes, she was spayed. So, yes, I could pick her up Thursday. She needed to have one more vet check there too.

When I hung up the phone, I literally jumped up and down in my office like a little girl! I went out to lunch by myself and called my sister and my mom and gushed about how excited I was. My family is one of dog lovers so they shared my joy.

My sister wanted me to name the dog "Lorelei", my mother wanted me to name the dog "Kella" but then changed her mind to support "Lorelei". My father insisted on Lilly at dinner Sunday night when I was considering the adoption. I had my heart set on Lucy, but wasn't sure. The calls the past few days with my family are hilarious. Everyone is voting for a name!

Last night, Tuesday night, I spoke with my little niece Karina who is 7 years old. She was full of tips - "don't give her too many treats, or she'll get diahrea," "buy the hard type of small treats since they are less likely to upset her stomach," etc... It was so adorable. She even asked if I would send her a framed photo of the dog like I had framed a photo of my former cat Grayson, "and add those little paw print drawings you made on the front too." I was so touched. I felt like the whole family were really welcoming her.

And then there's Stuart, my main squeeze. He is so excited that he is surfing Craigslist for dog supplies - for his house. This is to "ensure that the dog feels comfortable at my house too." He is so supportive, it's touching. I asked him to come with me when I pick her up and he agreed.

Yesterday I emailed out a bunch of my friends a photo of "Kola" like a proud parent and was so happy when I got a ton of "ohhhss" and "awws" and "wow she's cute"! I also went on Sunday to the library and borrowed literally 5 books on dog training and 1 book on CD on dog training. I also read a book on dog training in Hawaii. I'm so excited and nervous about house training and lease training. I also need to figure out what to do about lunch time visits. It'll be hard to go home everyday at lunch since my office is a 20 minute drive from my house one way. It'd take 40 minutes to drive & 20 minutes to play and walk the dog. I have to actually eat lunch too...*sigh*...I'll figure it out. I know. Okay. Gotto run. More later.

Brenda and Winnie - Wednesday May 29th 2008

Last night, Lucy made me a proud "dog mom". I'd given up on the idea that Lucy would have many or even any doggie friends as she has gotten so riled up in the past around other dogs, I feared that she might become aggressive with them. But last night, I bumped into Brenda, a neighbor on my evening walk with Lucy. Brenda is a veteran dog owner. I usually remember her as "Dokey's mom". She recently adopted a young dog named Winnie, whom came bounding out of the house towards Lucy. Right away, Lucy's ridge of fur on her back stood up, her ears perked up and her gaze was locked. I worried and said, "I'm not sure if Lucy will be friendly or not, she tends to be too forward."
"Well," Brenda said, " we'll see carefully."

She let Winnie walk up to Lucy and both dogs sniffed each other. Tails were up and slightly wagging. I was still tense though. After a minute I tugged lightly thinking the greeting should end. "Don't worry," Brenda said," Winnie gets along with every dog, she's very laid back even if Lucy is a little forward." Just as she said that, Lucy practically climbed ontop of Winnie, but it was gentle not aggressive. She used Winnie's back like a shelf for her paws. Winnie is a good 2 1/2 times bigger than Lucy and an adorable amber colored dog. Brenda suggested that we take them for a walk together if I had time.
"That'd be great. I'd love it if Lucy made a doggie friend. This is the first time she's been friendly with a female young dog. She's usually better with male dogs," I said.
"Yeah," Brenda said,"Winnie is similar in that she seems to prefer to play with male dogs."

We walked around the neighborhood, the two dogs leading the way. Lucy acted like she'd found a big sister (literally) and wanted to do everything that Winnie did. It was adorable. Up at the tennis court, I hesitatingly let Lucy off the leash as Brenda let Winnie go too. In a moment, the two of them were running at top speed in circles around the tennis court. Since Winnie is so much bigger than Lucy, Lucy could barely keep up. She barked a few times at Winnie, as if to say, "Hey, wait for me!"

Then Winnie ran over to the gate of the tennis court and kept sniffing around it. Brenda took it to mean that she had to go "do her business." Lucy wanted to follow along, but I tried to keep her a few feet away at least so Winnie could have some peace & quiet. After about 5 minutes or so, we met them again at the tennis court and let them run around. This time was different. It was Winnie that was chasing and jumping onto Lucy.
"Ahh, that's a good sign," Brenda said, "when the dogs switch playing the dominant role."
I was glad to see that Lucy was responding well & having a great time with her new doggie friend. I think my smile was plastered on my face the rest of the evening. This renewed my faith that Lucy _can_ be socialized with other dogs and may never be a dog park dog, but at least be friendlier with other dogs.

Hand signals for dog training Lucy

I read that dogs understand non-verbal communication better such as hand signals. I have definately observed this with Lucy. Sunday afternoon at a local park in Cary, Stuart and I did a run through of our best "sign language" with Lucy and took photos of each one.

First command: "Sit" using a closed fist and maintaining eye contact. Lucy sits immediately:


Second command: "Down" with a flat hand, palm down. Lucy knows this one very quickly too.


Third command: "Paw" or "Left Paw" and "Right Paw" holding hand out, palms up. Here her paw reached my hand. Eye contact is also important here.


Forth command: With hands flat, palms upwards - I made this one up - saying "Dance!" and Lucy rises to the occassion and sniffs my hand for treats.

Lucy playing,hiking & cuddling - Sat May 24th 08

Lucy goes to Taste of Durham - Saturday May 24th 2008

Lucy went to her first festival - the Taste of Durham this Saturday. She was very excited by all the sights, sounds and people. She particularly liked greeting the little kids.







As far as I know, this was Lucy's first sight of snow. There was a snow making machine at the entrance. She sniffed a bit, then almost peed on the snow. I tugged her away gently and then go this cute shot of her.




















Me & Lucy mugging for the camera. I lost count of how many times people came up to me and said, "Your dog is sooo cute! Can I pet him/her?" And I'd say each time, "This is Lucy and yes, she is very friendly."

After their weekend dog-sitting, Lucy's "grandparents" were asked to comment on any adventures. Yes, it was me asking for stories for the blog. As mentioned in my last post, they said, "ah, not much," but I knew that there had to be some cute stories. Lucy's "grandpa" then wrote and sent me this email on Tuesday May 20th 2008:


Subject:

Lucy at the movies with Papi und Mami

Dear Marissa,

We have to share with you how Lucy watched a movie with us.

First you have to understand that after I came home from the office I played with Lucy by throwing the bar bell rubber toys for her to retrieve. When she did this several times I rewarded her with a small treat. We played for a half hour.

When we finished dinner and played the movie Lucy jumped onto the couch and sat snuggled between Mami and I..

Then half way thru the movie Lucy jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen and brought to me one of the rubber bar bells and then ran into the kitchen quickly and brought me the second one. She immediately sat down by me and with her eyes asked for a treat. SHE IS A VERY INTELLIGENT dog anxious to please.

I hope you enjoyed the short story of Lucy and the movies.

With much love.

Mutti and Papi

First weekend without Lucy - Lucy at grandparent's

Tuesday May 20th 2008:
This past weekend was the first weekend I went away without Lucy. My parents "dog sat" and they were excited about it, as was Lucy. In Wilmington, I kept seeing dogs everywhere we went and I missed having Lucy with me. I kept thinking, "I wonder if Lucy would like this." Every dog I met, I wished Lucy were with us. I imagined her running full speed gracefully along the ocean's edge. *sigh*. In real life, she'd probably poop on the beach and not come when I called...but that's my problem as her owner not hers.

When we returned, I picked up Lucy and asked my parents about any Lucy adventures. "Oh, none," they said. But then I stayed for dinner and learned that Lucy had a few firsts:

1) First taste of watermelon
2) First taste of hamburger
3) First time she pulled out a watering rod from a garden & caused garden damage. My mom was good natured about it.
4) First time snuggling with them on the couch while they watched a movie

Lucy seemed very happy when I picked her up and that was nice. I think they wanted to keep her! *lol*

Today I took Lucy to work and at lunch, took her to the park with a lake for a short walk. I brought her up to the shoreline where there is sand and a mini-beach. She was so excited about the water. She crawled forward in a moment, then crawled backwards as the tide came in. She repeated many times. Then she scratched at the sand and then shoved her entire nose and face in it to test it out. Then she sneezed. She was so excited about the water and couldn't stop staring at the small waves. I wanted to let her off the leash to swim, but the water has mercury contamination and is not safe for swimming, plus I'm not sure she'd come when I called her out. Anyhow, that was my Lucy adventure this past week. I can't wait for more.

Tuesday May 13th - Lucy runs away!

Tuesday May 13th 2008

Sunday was uneventful, we had a relaxing day while it stormed outside and dropped to 50 something degrees. Of course I took Lucy out, but for short walks throughout the day. I had to go to Petsmart to get a new fish tank and made the wise choice not to take Lucy inside. The beta fish somehow made a mess in the vase I had him in, so I needed to upgrade.

Monday - yesterday - nothing eventful, except the usual morning walk.

Today - worked from home and I thought I'd have a relaxing morning til I started work. Boy was I wrong! While I was setting my food down to eat my breakfast, I opened the porch door and let Lucy out. I went back to the kitchen to get tea and then I had this sinking feeling - it was too quite and I worried where Lucy was. I rushed onto the porch. Empty. My heart started to race. Then suddenly I heard the "ding ding ding" of her collar tags and saw her running at full speed away from my house towards the road. I screamed, "Lucy! Lucy". I rushed inside, threw on my sneakers, grabbed a whole box of dog treats and ran outside. Gone. Poof. I was running around my neighborhood in my red fleece dog hair covered robe, Pjs' underneath and black sneakers, clutching a box of dog treats, wiping my eyes of tears and trying to cheerily call out, "Lucy, come here. Treats. Lucy!" I had grabbed my cell phone and called my friend Stefan in tears. He's Lucy's "doggie uncle". He said he'd be right over, but the best thing to do is to stay close to my house and keep calling her with treats. It was 7am and I realized I might have worken him up, but thanked him and said I had to keep looking. Images of Lucy hit by a car flooded my mind. My heart raced and I felt horrible. At least she had a dog tag and microchip. My thoughts raced, "Should I call animal control? can they find her? What should I do?"

Out of ideas and needing to get home, I walked home frustrated. Suddenly, to my delight I saw a little while tail wagging in the woods near my back door. It was Lucy! I called out and shook my box of dog treats violently. "Come, Lucy, come!" I didn't want to run towards her because she'd think it's a game and run away. To my huge surprise and relief, she came bounding my way. She shoved her nose into the doggie treats and ate away. For a moment I felt a rush of relief and even anger. I wanted to tell her to never do that again, that she scared me to death. But I knew she wouldn't understand. Instead, I scooped her up in my arms, grabbed the doggie treats and walked home. I gently put her down once inside and then reached for my phone to call Stefan that everything was okay. He was happy too.

So, having a dog *can* be a relaxing and rewarding experience. What I forgot to think about was the possibility of her slipping out and possibly getting lost or hurt. This morning having a dog whom I love caused me sheer anxiety. I'm so grateful that she came home by herself and was alright. *sigh*. It certainly was like drinking 5 cups of coffee at once and got my day started.

After the excitement, I got dressed and took Lucy out for a long walk. I clipped her leash to her collar in addition to the "Gentle Leader" chest restraint. I didn't want to take any chances. Lucy seemed her jolly self, not realizing how scared I was earlier. To her, I guess, it was just one doggie adventure.

Lucy's first cook-outs - 2 in one day!

Lucy's first cook-outs - 2 in one day! Also on Saturday May 10th, Lucy joined us for not 1 but 2 cook-outs. The first was at my parent's house for a friend & his sister visiting from Germany. Her son adored playing with Lucy in the backyard and also got some great snapshots of her. Lucy's favorite thing to do there is to run like crazy around the backyard. Her speed and agility are quite impressive. I took a quick videoclip with my digital camera.



That evening, we took her to my friend Leslie's cook-out in her backyard. She has a dog tether, no a "dog run" but the run was so long and Lucy kept knocking over things like the torch lanterns around the yard, so that ended quickly. Instead I spent our 2 hours or so there, with Lucy next to me on the leash. Leslie's yard is only 98% fenced in, so I couldn't let Lucy off of the leash. Lucy met most of our friends, except Corrine and her boyfriend Kevin. They adored Lucy and I kept trying to take pics of them with her, but she was so excited by the smells of cheese and hamburgers on the grill, that we couldn't keep Lucy still. We still got a few cute pics:

Saturday May 10th - Lucy meets Petra

My friend Petra finally met Lucy this past weekend, Saturday May 10th. Petra volunteers at a local animal shelter and Lucy could tell she loves animals. Petra also gave Lucy an adorable plush doggy toy which Lucy loved. We thought about taking her to the Farmer's Market, but given her level of excitement around other dogs, we decided against it. Just as well, because we got there at 12 noon, just as it was closing. So we had lunch at Weaver Street instead.

Lucy's date with the girls - Saturday May 3 2008

Saturday May 3rd 2008 - I brought Lucy over to my friend Kelly's house since her two daughters were excited to meet her. Since Lucy seemed very friendly on our walks when she met young children, I figured it'd be okay. I warned my friend Kelly that Lucy likes to jump up and children can get afraid, so we'll just have to see. She was fine with that.

Since their yard is "mostly" fenced in, we had to keep Lucy on a lease, but it didn't stop the fun. The two girls were so excited to meet & play with Lucy. There were a few adorable moments.

1) Both girls came running up to Lucy with toys trying to get Lucy's attention and Lucy didn't know what to do, but her tail was wagging and she was enjoying the attention. Finally, Kelly convinced the girls to throw one thing at a time for Lucy to fetch.





2) They wanted Lucy to play with this really large stick. At first we joked that Lucy couldn't possibly play with such a big stick. As if reading our minds, she suddenly rushed up and grabbed the end of what must have been a 6 foot stick. We all laughed.




3) The girls overheard me telling their mom that Lucy likes to dig and I wanted to prevent her from digging holes in their backyard like she did in my parent's back yard. But the girls only heard dig and decided to make it their personal missing to get Lucy to dig. They both, in their adorable young voices chanted, "Lucy, dig, Lucy, dig." And when Lucy didn't know what they wanted they were determined to show her. Both girls got down to the ground and with their finger nails started digging in a corner of the yard. At first Kelly told them, " we don't want the dog to dig in the yard or you girls either," but then it was so funny, that she said, "well, whatever, guess we'll have to do bath tonight." And then, as if once again Lucy read the girls' mind, she started digging along side the girls. They were so thrilled. It was adorable. A quick pic I was able to capture:

Lucy explores my office - Friday May 2nd

Lucy's usual reaction to a new building is to drop to all fours and practically grab the floor with her paws. I gather that she's afraid of going into new buildings, so I did my best to gently coax her down the hall by happily calling her, "Come, Lucy" and then offering her a treat to sit. She started to seem more relaxed once we got to the door of my office within the building. Then it was hard to juggle my laptop, snack bag, water bottle, key badge and the lease. The door almost hit her and she seemed scared. I felt bad at my bad juggling act.

Once in my office, I closed the door and took her off the lease. She happily sniffed every inch of the office for a long time while I set up my computer and started my day. I tried to take a few candid snapshots of her, but she seems to know that sound of my digital camera booting up and she comes running towards me or starts sniffing the air. The best snapshot which really epitomizes her ability to squeeze into tight places is this one below. All you can see is her tail as she crawled between the built in office furniture and the wall:

Lucy's first lunch at a cafe - Friday May 2nd 2008

This past Friday, I took Lucy to the office & then out to lunch with friends. At lunch, I was worried the outdoor cafe would excite her, so I came prepared with treats and a Kong toy full of treats. That did the trick. Here's a pic of Lucy happily gnawing at her Kong toy:


Once she was done with that, she was more relaxed, yet fixated on the crowd seated infront of us and anyone who walked by. The best "head shot" of her I could get was from behind her head showing her ears perked up in alert attention:


I took pictures of my pregnant friend so that once she has her baby, I can tell the child that Lucy was the first dog they ever met! My friend thought that was cute. Then she turned the camera on me. Me & Lucy enjoying our first lunch out together:

Our First visit to the dog trainer, Jenn:

Sunday April 27th, we drove out into the countryside for what seemed like an hour, but really was only 20 minutes or so. The scenery was lovely but the roads were long, windy and largely unmarked, so I was grateful for the detailed directions Jenn had given us.

When we arrived, I was impressed with the beautiful back yard and view she had. Jenn was tall and wiry and seemed 110% committed to dogs and dog training. I was immediately moved by her genuine concern as she took a detailed inventory of any and all issues relating to Lucy. To my surprise, she sat us down and wanted to discuss nutrition first.

What she said about avoiding corn products and corn based fillers like high fructose corn syrup made sense not only for dogs, but for us humans as well. I asked for recommendations after she looked disappointed that I'd picked a standard dog food brand from PetSmart. She suggested that I buy higher end yet affordable dog food from more of a boutique pet store like Phydo in downtown Carrboro. I agreed to do that and she gave strict instructions to only carefully and slowly change Lucy's diet. I was struck by the thought that diet can really affect our moods and behaviors and it only made sense that packaged foods for dogs are even worse as they are even less regulated than food for human consumption. Even that is debatable too given the overuse of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup in packaged foods. But I digress...

There was so much information to absorb, that I was so glad Stuart was with me. Between the 2 of us, I hoped we'd be able to remember most of it.

Some Tips from the dog trainer:

1) "Off" - instead of pushing Lucy down off of you while you are seated, instead keep the lease on her while you are with her in the house and gently tug on her lease and say "Off". Another option is to get up and that would make her have to get off too.

She said that by pushing her chest down and telling her "off", you may be actually encouraging the behavior, as for dogs that can be a sign of play.

2) "Down" should only mean moving from the sitting position to the floor.

3) Nutrition - To carefully read food labels on dog foods. Most have fillers like corn, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup as the main first three ingredients. She said that it's important to avoid - if possible - foods with fillers like that and select foods with proteins like chicken or beef or wheat as the first three ingredients. Since Lucy can get easily agitated by other dogs, she suggested that a change in diet might help her stay calmer and be able to think better.

4) Fetch - to throw a low value treat out and say "get it" and then "come" and give her a higher value treat.

The only problem with this is that she used to actually bring the ball back but since Sunday she will barely even run after the tennis ball. It's as if we've inadvertently trained her to only go for treats. At least a few times last night she ran for the ball, but then picked it up, dropped it and ran back expecting a treat. We both chuckled and tried to insist that she only get the treat when she brings the ball back. So I think somehow we confused her.

5) Walking on a lease - to introduce that gentle leader nose thing to her over the next few weeks by putting it on her and giving treats and then taking it off and stopping the treats. Most dogs hate it so it's important to at least get her to feel more neutral or at least associate it with something positive.

Right now, she can be a train wreck on a leash and especially if there's another dog around. Jenn suggested that we use a carabineer to clip the lease onto her collar, so that if she wriggles out of the chest brace, as least she's still secure. The problem is that you have to hold the leash with two hands and it feels awkward and she still seems able to pull.

6) Other dogs - The key thing Jenn suggested about encountering other dogs is to break Lucy's eye contact. How? By literally using your body to redirect her head and the lease in two places and turn away from the other dog. Once turned away and she's actually following, to reward her with a treat (from your invisible 3rd hand) and praise her. This is all hard to juggle.

Eventually, as Lucy's agitation level decreases, to let her get closer to the other dog to sniff but then move away quickly to prevent Lucy from annoying the other dog and causing a problem. Jenn suggested that we make sure to take control of the situation, not just "see what happens".

She also said that there are many dogs out there who are simply "not dog park dogs" but who make lovely and dedicated family pets. She could tell I was discouraged by Lucy's agitated reaction to even the stuffed dog that was like 100 feet away! Jenn said that some dogs know instantly it's fake, in fact I think she even mumbled that most would. It gave her a "base line" for Lucy's "reactivity level". I grimaced and realized that that base line was really over the top.

6) Crate training - we asked what is the purpose and I asked specifically about what to do this upcoming Thursday when my writing group comes over. Jenn suggested that I stuff a Kong toy full of her evening meal (still some rice with dry dog food) and be sure to put a yummy irresistible treat at the bottom so she'll be motivated to work with it.

We tried this last night and closed the crate door. Lucy didn't care and was so obsessed with the Kong toy that as we left she was oblivious to our departure. It worked like a charm. She also suggested that I keep Lucy on a lease when I let her meet and greet the guests to prevent her from jumping up and getting too excited. I’m glad that I have a plan for Thursday.

We thanked Jenn for her time and agreed to touch base in the next 3 weeks or so to then schedule a follow-up visit. She said she'd email me some more useful dog training tip sheets, which I appreciated.

The drive back involved us getting lost in the back country and both of us getting frustrated. I was so relieved that my GPS device a) worked and b) navigated us back to I-40 after a series of strange turns. Lucy was relaxed and even tired lying down in the back of the car.

Sunday Morning April 20th - Louie & Lucy

Sunday morning, April 20th, Lucy dragged me across the lawn towards her
lover Louie's house. I could see him in the upstairs window and
hear him whining down at Lucy. Lucy whined back. They were
calling for eachother. It was adorable. The neighbor said that
Louie didn't want to go for a walk and that he'd try now that Lucy
was out. A few minutes later, Louie came bounding towards her, so
excited that he had to yet again lift his leg and pee against a tree.
Moments later, Louie and Lucy's leases were entwined and Louie
was on top of Lucy as she dropped to the ground and then to my
embarassment, actually humping her. Well, since he was about 1
foot shorter, he was humping the air, but did have his front paws
on her back. Stuart took a few snapshot of the lovers and then we
detangled them and went on our hike.

Overall, the weekend was wonderful. Lucy lived up to my dreams of having a dog. She was active and loved hiking, well mannered
when greeting people, listening to new requests and even making
some doggie friends. She has, in 1 week, added so much joy to my
life. She, in turn, seemed to also really enjoy the hike. In this photo to the left, she looks like a happy adventurer.