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Lucy Belle Dog Pasternak
Lucy's Story
The trip was an hour and a half one way and involved crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on a Saturday in late June. We followed the advice Lucy's owners gave us to leave northern Virginia no later than 7:00 AM and it worked; we missed the backup at the bridge. Karen, her housemate Steve and I spent some time with Lucy and her family. Lucy greeted us at the door and was a friendly, playful girl. After the visit we agreed that Lucy would come to stay with Dave and me. We would introduce her to Karen's rabbits and bird once she was settled down and see how things went. If Karen could adopt her, great, but if not, Dave and I would foster her until she found a new home.
Lucy's other health issue involved her tail. She's a happy, waggy girl and wags so hard that her whole body shimmies. Her tail whacks everything in its path--walls, furniture, cabinets, dogs, people and door frames. Lucy opened a sore on her tail one morning and the foyer suddenly looked like the set of a slasher movie. First we caught the dog and cleaned up the tail, then we washed the walls. Lucy's tail is healing nicely since we applied an empty toilet paper roll to the end of it. Bonnie is pretty good at avoiding being thwacked. Sam just closes his eyes until it stops. Much to our amazement, Lucy leaves the roll alone. (For detailed instructions on applying my Happy Tail dressing, please see Saving Lucy's Tail. In cases of persistent tail injury, amputation is recommended. My method has also saved the tails of at least two other Labs in addition to Lucy's.) Meanwhile, at Karen's house, there was a guest bird. Barley screeched and flapped when Lucy came in the house, so the visits were curtailed until Barley returned home. Then came the experiment. Merlynne, the parrot, was ok. She defended her cage and made it clear that she would not let Lucy near. Sage, the male bunny, was ok. He just watched from his favorite place under the table. Hazel, the female bunny froze. She wouldn't calm down even if Lucy was on another floor of the house. Karen was heartbroken that she couldn't adopt Lucy. Dave and I swore we'd never have a third dog, but we'd become very attached to Lucy. Lucy is affectionate, people-oriented and a fetch monster. She got along fine with Bonnie and liked to hang out with Sam. Lucy slept in our bedroom, like Levi and Toni did, sometimes on the bed and sometimes on the floor. Lucy loved walks and was good enough on the leash that she could be walked with Bonnie and Sam. She never had to be crated in our house; she was always fine with the run of it when we left. Lucy quickly fit in with the pack very well. On July 11, 2002, Dave came home from work and called Lucy over. He asked her if she'd like to join the family and she accepted. Karen got her dog on November 9, 2002. Meet Teeny. Here are some photos taken on November 19, 2002 of Lucy. She turned 7 on November 9. On December 23, 2002 we celebrated Lucy's six month anniversary as a member of our family. She's a wonderful girl! During the summer of 2004, Lucy had swimming dates with some of her fellow Lab Rescue alumni. Lucy loves the water and is an excellent swimmer. Here's an account of her visits to the Northern Virginia Animal Swim Center. Lucy's swimming page.
Lucy's Links
E-mail Bobbi at NurseBobbi AT cox DOT net. © copyright 2000-2004 Bobbi Pasternak |
It all started when my sister Karen decided she wanted a dog. Karen really liked our 
Lucy panted on the trip back. She panted all afternoon. We kept her in air-conditioned comfort, but she was very excited and didn't settle down. Her tongue was deep red and her ears and feet felt hot, so I took her temperature. It was 108 degrees! We wrapped her in a cool wet sheet, put an icepack between her back legs, and rushed her to the emergency vet at SouthPaws. It seems that Lucy was dehydrated and the excitement and stress led to hyperthermia. Her temperature came down to normal with intravenous fluids and she came back to us the next day with orders to keep quiet for several days. She seems to have no ill effects from the episode.
