As soon as Mia learned to talk, she started asking for a puppy. When she was four years old,the time was finally right for us to adopt. On Father’s day of 2016, we went to the Pets Alive rescue center in San Antonio to find a new family member. It was hard not to fall in love with all the pups there, but when Mia held Lucy for the first time, we knew she was meant to be ours.
I wish I could say that the first months together was all cuddles and rainbows, but it didn’t go quite that smoothly. Mia didn’t understand why she couldn’t hold Lucy all day, or feed her table scraps, and she was not prepared for what a commitment it would be to train Lucy.
Lucy thought puppy pads were there for her to shred, carpet was to pee on, and harnesses were dog treats. There was a learning curve for all of us. I used to laugh it off when people said “having puppy us just like having a newborn”, but now that I have had both, I am here to tell you that getting up at all hours of the night to take the dog out feels a LOT like having a newborn.
I freaked out about 10 times during week one. Once when Lucy ate brownies off the counter, and I was worried the chocolate would kill her. Another time when I caught her getting the batteries out of our remotes. Again when I saw her swallow an entire dead bird during a walk. She was fine every single time. Apparently dogs from the street have stomachs made of steel. At the shelter, they had told us that dogs who beat parvovirus are tough, and boy were they right.
Even Mia, who had begged for a puppy for years, started asking if we could “take her back and get a cat”. She was upset that Lucy had chewed one of her toys. I firmly insisted that Lucy was family now, we were her people, and we were going to take care of her forever.
It was so worth it. After a couple of months, it seemed strange to remember our life pre-dog days. We made many new friends at the dog park, and I got a lot more exercise taking Lucy for walks. Lucy & Mia learned to understand each other better, and became best friends. Googling “dog friendly restaurants” and scheduling puppy playdates became a thing I did often. We learned that when we play hide and seek, Lucy would not tell us where Mia hid, but would always bark at us and let Mia know where we were hiding-snitch! Most nights Mia and Lucy fall asleep cuddled up together, and every morning we wake up to Lucy demanding some love and rubs.. We learned that Lucy expects to have some scrambled eggs with her breakfast, just like us. Lucy will find bugs, block them, and bark at us until we get rid of them. She is loving, protective,playful and hilarious.
We adore her. This is our Life With Lucy.
There are so many wonderful pups waiting to find a forever home. It might seem like we are helping them when we adopt them, and we are, but mostly they will help us. They will change your life in a wonderful way. They will make every day filled with more love, more adventures, more messes, more fun. It’s a wonderful life when everything you own is covered in dog hair. I hope that people will consider adopting when they see what a wonderful addition Lucy has been to our family. This is an ongoing photo series where I will share our many memories of Life With Lucy.
All images are copyright©
For permission to use photos, e-mail: [email protected]