5/23/07

We loved Lucy

Tri-O's
Oddities, observations, and opinions

By Herb Kandel

An old maxim states that a camel is a horse designed by committee. If that is so then it must have taken at least two committees to have come up with the mold for Lucy, our eclectic pet.

At first glance she might have been mistaken for a dachshund as her elongated body with somewhat disproportionate short legs gave her that appearance. But her head and snout resembled a Chihuahuas’, except her ears; the cocker spaniel kind that lapped over. Her chest was that of a bulldog, thrust out and proud. Her short hair had the color of a chocolate Labrador, which, after she had her bath, shone like a seals’ coat. Boston terrier brown eyes peered at the world ever alert for perils that could befall someone whose peepers were only 3 inches above the ground. To complete the picture, when this canine montage walked, her squat front legs swung in semi-circles as she waddled forward duck-like. This was our little Lucy.

She was a rescue puppy. We were told she had been neglected to where she was left outdoors in all weather at all times to pretty much fend for herself, to the point of foraging for food in garbage bags.

That was almost fifteen years ago. She was our constant companion in all the places we lived and in every hurricane evacuation. She was accepted by our mostly schnauzer, Bonzer (she too was a rescue hound) and later Lucy welcomed Daphne (yet another pound puppy - mostly soft coated wheaten terrier). Because of her size and disposition she was always the Beta to the other dogs. Over the years as her siblings passed on to The Rainbow Bridge in the sky and others became beloved family members, she assumed the role of Grand Dame. Independent and aloof she garnered the respect of her new, younger, and always larger siblings. She rarely played with the other two but when it happened it was she who initiated the action.

If Lucy had been an entrant in a canine pageant she would not have been a nominee for Miss Congeniality. But she would have had a good shot at Miss Loyalty, Miss Sweetness, or Miss Quiet Companion. She had a way of sidling up to your dangling hand when you were sitting and then rubbing her head against it, side to side, which always reminded me of an elephant-like gyration when they roll their heads. In her younger days, when her body and legs was more supple, she would skip up the stairway to the second floor. Her stubby back legs providing the propulsion while the front ones reached out; but with her circular gait it looked like she was doing a land locked breast-stroke. And when she descended she took on the appearance of a slinky slithering down step to step.

As the years went by they took their normal toll. Her face and paws showed at first a hint of gray later more so, the vanilla encroached the chocalate. She slept longer, deeper, and more often. She balked at steps and had to be carried down and up. Because of her early puppy hood hunger her appetite never waned, until near the end. For several months she had been receiving fluid injections to prevent dehydration and to flush waste products through the kidneys, as she was experiencing chronic kidney failure.

Our vet, a caring Dr. Bill, said it was time to let her go. Body functions were shutting down and nothing more could be done without additional suffering. So on May Day she was held lovingly as she slipped away - first to a peaceful sleep and then to eternity.

There is a bond between humans and animals but especially with those pets who provided personal companionship, love that was unconditional, acceptance, and a sharing co-dependence each day.

There is an empty bowl now at meal time, a vacant bed at the foot of ours, a leash that hangs limp on a hook, and a space in our hearts that is currently occupied with only memories. Our quaint, funny looking, sweet Lucy, who graced our home for all those years, I know is having her head rubbed by someone somewhere. And when I think of this, as is oft times, it brings back a paraphrase of the Beatles song “Lucy in the sky with -- Bonzer and Daphne”

End

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