One Year Anniversary/Adoption Birthday for Lucy!!!!!!!!!!!

Although we didn't mark April 10th with an event to celebrate, I recalled April 10th 2008 fondly.

I remember I had that sales meeting at a customer site and all I could think about was, "Call the shelter to confirm the adoption!". That was that Monday, which must have been April 7th. I think I have a whole essay about those few days in my first blog postings.

All I can say is that adopting Lucy has simply been wonderful, wuenderbar! So, although I spent Friday April 10th, volunteering at a local rescue mission, I did spent a little extra time that evening on a longer walk and more play time with Lucy and quietly honored her.

That weekend, April 11th & 12th, we treated Lucy to not just 1 but 2 "doggie easter egg hunts"! We got the idea from the AniMall fundraiser we brought her to on Saturday the 11th and then used the remaining plastic eggs filled with dog treats Easter Sunday in my parent's backyard. Since my niece and nephew couldn't be there, we had no little ones to hold an Easter Egg Hunt for, Lucy was more than happy to fill in! Will post photos.

Easter - April 2009

April 11th 2009:

Lucy participated in a "Doggie Easter Egg Hunt" which was at Crowder Park in Apex. The event was a fundraiser for the non-profit called AniMall that aids in pet adoption.

At first, Lucy had no interest in the plastic eggs littered along the trail. She was too focused on all the other canine guests. She was better than usual meeting other dog and that made me very happy to see that. I got a few cute snapshots of her meeting & greeting some rather large German Shepherds. .

Moving onto the path into the woods, I decided to give Lucy the pointer she needed to participate. I cracked open a plastic egg and revealed the dog treats to her. Suddenly, you could see the lights go on in her eyes. From that moment on, she was, as Stuart put it, "like a fat kid with a row of candy bars." She developed this robotic system of pushing the plastic egg with her paw into her mouth, gently cracking open the plastic egg, dropping it to the ground, using her paws to roll them around and inhale the treats. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. By the 7th or 8th egg, I began to worry about her getting sick from too may treats, so instead of letting her eat them, I collected some in the cute plastic bags they gave as part of the event.

The videoclip of Lucy tearing through the easter egg hunt:

3,000 word essay on Lucy - or 3 new photos

If a photo is worth a 1,000 words, then this is my version of a 3,000 word essay.

Here are 3 snapshots of Lucy running around this weekend. She is looking healthier and stronger than a year ago when I adopted her. And she's even getting more fun!

A new trick? Can it be! Lucy "sings" along!

Okay, getting a dog to sing might not be new, but it's still adorable. While practicing my vocal exercises, I noticed that Lucy would sing along but only to 1 particular exercise, the "eee" exercise.

So, I added a hand signal to the voice request of "Sing!" by pointing to my lips with my hand flat and moving my hand out and then doing the exercise. And yes, I also added another command of "Shh!" with my finger over my lips and gave her treats when she'd suddenly stop.

With all that intro, here's a tiny video clip I got while trying to vocalize with her!

Check it out:

Lucy's long lost brother

Last week, I was taking out my visiting niece and nephew to Locopops on Franklin Street. It was a fun outing and unlike most of our outings, we left Lucy at home.

We were wrapping up our "date" and walking back towards the car, when down the street I saw a white dog with black ears and black spots sitting. This dog was a spitting image of Lucy. "Come on' guys, walk faster! I've got to meet that dog!" The kids agreed and I heard a few "oohhhss" and "ahhhsss, it does look just like Lucy."

I rushed up to this young couple and a woman who appeared to be a visiting relative. I asked if I could meet their dog. They were all friendly. I knelt down and was greeted by Peanuts. Peanuts was white with black marbeling on his torso, had black ears and some brown and black markings on his face. He was exactly the same size, weight and temprament as Lucy. "Oh my goodness, Peanut is just like Lucy, it's unbelievable." The owner,Michelle, smiled but I could see that she wasn't quite buying my story. I asked where they adopted Peanut. It was also the Orange County Shelter. I asked how old Peanut was. Peanut was also about a year or year and a half. Then, I got them convinced. I took out my iPhone and showed them a photo of Lucy. The three of them literally gasped, "Oh My God! She looks just like Peanut!"

We chatted for a while about the dogs and guessed that they are indeed related, if not brother and sister. I was so excited about meeting Lucy's brother. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and agreed to meet up soon and have an "introduction" for Lucy and Peanut.

After the meeting, I was upset with myself for not getting a picture of Peanut. This was disapointing to Stuart too who was not there for that 1 outing to Locopops. Last week, I emailed Michelle and asked to meet soon, possibly next weekend (aka this weekend now) to have the dogs meet. I didn't hear back a while and felt disappointed. But last night, I got an email back that they would love to set up the meeting for this Sunday afternoon and that she had checked out the "Lucy blog" and really liked it. It turns out that Peanut is also gifted when it comes to doing tricks.

I can't wait to see Peanut again and have Lucy & Peanut meet! I hope I can get them to pose for a photo for me together. Now I wonder if there are any other siblings of Lucy and Peanut still out there. I bet that there are since most litters have at least 3 - 5 dogs. I would love to have Lucy meet all of her siblings. Heck, I'd love to adopt another dog like Lucy!

Hula-hoop video#2 - Stu has Lucy strut her stuff

Check it out:

Lucy & her hula-hoop trick!

We are proud to announce that we finally got Lucy to not only like the hula-hoop, but to jump through it! Yes, it took lots of treats to get there.

Check it out: