i love Lucy

My Mom has a little bone shaped plaque in her kitchen which reads, "Dogs are just children with fur". In our family this is absolutely true. On Tuesday my sister Karen's dog-child passed away. Lucy was her first born, my first niece, the first grand-dog...it has been a tough couple of days for our family.

Lucy was our family's "original" dog. When Karen got Lucy it didn't take long for all of us to fall head-over-heels for her. We were lucky that Karen shared her with all of us. Lucy's arrival in our lives soon led to the arrival of Gus, my Mom and Dad's dog, and Mazzy, our sweet puppy (who died at 3 yrs old). But, she never lost her spot in our hearts...like I said, she was our "original" dog, and we loved her.

Lucy was one, sweet dog. When she wagged her tail her whole hind end would wag. There wasn't one occasion that I saw Lucy that her tail wasn't wagging. Even when I saw Lucy a few weeks ago on her 11th birthday, when she was barely able to walk due to her worsening spinal degeneration, she greeted us with her little, waggy bottom. Lucy loved her people, and I was lucky enough to be one of her people...to be on the receiving end of that waggy bottom.

And, as hard as it is for us...as sad as it is for us...my sister Karen and her family have it the hardest. Lucy-dog was an important member of that family. Nana dog to Lillian, Jack and Eva...they have never known a world without her. She has left them with wonderful memories and was a true gift in their lives.

All dogs go to heaven...and Lucy-dog is, no doubt, running about with Mazzy chasing rabbits...but never catching them.

Lucy Rosebud