Fred's Watching Over Me!, My new beginning with Lucy Options

[patricia]

it's been a while since ive posted. my life has been slightly chaotic ever since my little lucy has come into my life. she came exactly one week after fred got sick. i didnt want her at first but how can we say no to any furry creature that needs a home. shes a little terrier (or as i prefer to call her: a terror) mix and shes about 7 1/2 months old now. she was rescued from a kill shelter in LA, at about 4 months, and then the new owner decided that it was too much for him so he released her into the streets. her foster family found her laying by the side of the road as she'd been hit by a car. they rushed her to er and paid for all her medical/surgical bills. when she was finally ok to go home, her foster family found her owner. i guess he felt remorse and posted missing signs everywhere. they met with him and asked him to help with half of the payments and he refused and in fact rejected her again, saying he was single and didnt have time to care for her. her foster parents took her in but unfortunately could not keep her. my fred sent her my way and now shes found her forever home. it wasnt easy. the first day i cried and cried because i missed my fred so much. and i was angry! how could i take in a dog so soon afer my little cat had died? but this was all part of freds master plan. it came to a point where i called some friends and confessed that i would not be able to keep her. that was the pivotal moment: because i remember lucy looking at me with her beautiful sad eyes begging me not to give her away again. at that exact moment, i knew that i couldnt do that to her and i would have to make it work. it didnt take long for me to fall absolutely head over heels in love with her. missing fred? its still not easy. i come to work and turn on my computer to freds sweet little face and i will just lose it. or i listen to one of his songs and i sob. i dont know when that pain will go away. but i do know that as the clock tics daily, i look forward to getting home because i know my little lucy goosey is waiting for me. she loves to go on her walks, just me and her. and she loves coming back home and turning into what i call "lucy-fur" where her eyeballs start spinning and she goes a little crazy. then she settles down right next to me, hopefully i will have treats for her, and falls asleep. i have to wake her in order to go outside one last time and then she runs into her crate for the night. well, she runs because she always has a little cookie in there waiting for her. i love waking up in the middle of the night to hear her little snoring. and in the morning? well its hard for me no to open her crate door immediately. i think im more excited to see her than she is to see me. shes my little monkey. people tell me that little rescue animals know they are rescued and are doubly grateful to be with us. but i say, im the one thats grateful…to have her in my life. she makes me laugh again, and smile and when she wraps her little paws around my neck and lays her little head on my shoulder, or tries to eat my earring, well, i couldnt ask for more. my wonderful fred: i love you so much and i will never never never forget you. thank you for giving me lucy. she will never replace you but she makes me happy again just like you always did my little sweet. momma loves you forever!

[patricia]

well, today was a rough day. not only did i have a rough weekend with lucy, my crazy beautiful dog but this morning i found out that one of her buddies, jack, passed away over the weekend. my heart is broken. jack was a very special dog. he was a gentle beast and he will be missed by his momma and daddy, zoe, his little jack russell sister and of course all of his friends and family. he was loved very much and now i know he has crossed and is looking after his momma and daddy.
well to ease the pain, i decided to record "lucy's first thanksgiving tails" cuz it makes me laugh. and laughing is better than crying. lucy's gramma came over on wednesday nite to spend the entire weekend with us. lucy couldnt stop wiggling and wagging that tail of hers. sometimes i think she loves her more than she does me. when my mother comes over, i give her my bed and i sleep on the couch. lucy, then, sleeps with gramma, but in her crate. oh was she ever happy to see her in the morning. as i walk her at 730 in the morning (and ive never been a morning person), i tiptoed in so as not to wake up my mother, yeah right! as i quietly opened her crate i was received with a bolt as she jumped out, knocked me down and jumped on the bed and proceeded not only to wake my mom up but to smother her with kisses. well thats the nice part. she also got excited and started eating her hair as she jumped up and down…on my mother. then she ended it with a giant bite of the nose. yes sireeee. thats my dog. i finally smothered her a bit so i could put her little coat on and leash and i dragged her away from my poor mother who has bald spots all over her head now. as she walked-ran away from the bed, she kept looking back at my mother, who was seeing stars at this point, as if to say, dont go anywhere, im coming back. although she didnt say it, i could see my mother thinking how she could get a ride back to her precious home, away from this little crazy one. we walked an extra 15 minutes to give her time to recover.
thanskgiving morning, i was very grateful to have my mother and my little furry love with me. lucy however had other thoughts. she was just grateful her gramma was with her. she shadowed my mother the entire day, well actually for the next three days. not only did she shadow her, she had to touch her leg at all time. try making thanksgiving dinner in a tiny kitchen that barely fit two people at once and now we had to watch out for a furry body that watched my moms every move and prayed that something would fall from the countertop. we managed to finish dinner without moving an inch. i strategically placed myself next to the refrigerator so i could pass things to my mother, she would throw stuff in a bowl and pass it back to me so i could stir. i would then pass it back to her to put on the stove or the oven. it only took us 5 hours and very stiff and sore legs (ours not lucy's) to make dinner. lucy meanwhile just sat next to my mom on the little rug and enjoyed the warmth of the oven and the yummy smells. at 4 we sat down, yes lucy too. she decided that sitting next to my mother would get her treats easier than if she sat with mom, or like i said before, maybe she just loves her more. not one dish was passed, one bite eaten that she didnt note. it was like a tennis match. her head bobbed back and forth and her eyes got bigger and bigger and then she took a deep breathe and walked away. she finally realized that she wasnt get anything from momma or gramma. ok i must interject and let you know that i dont give her people food for the simple reason that i love her so much and i am mortified that she could eat something that makes her sick. BUT, she looked so sad and my mom was beggin me to give her a little something so i gave in. when we finished i made her a little plate of chicken dinner (i dont eat turkey anymore). she got a bit of mashed potatoes and greenbeans. i decided against the cranberry sauce. when she finished licking her chops, i picked her up, gave her a big hug and said happy thanksgiving lucy. but before i could finish saying it, she wiggled herself out of my arms, ran to find my mother, who was groaning in agony over the overeating, lay down next to her and fell asleep. my mother rubbed her little belly. i think it made her feel like someone was doing that to HER. i dont know but i think lucy was smiling as she was sleeping. her belly was full but more importantly she won the battle. she finally got to eat people food. im still not sure which one of the two made her happiest…but im glad she was happy. momma went back to groaning while i washed the dishes and cleaned up, gramma rubbed her granddog's belly and lucy? well lucy dreamt of mashpotatoes and more pumpkin pie. (sigh) she has a good life that little one i miss you fred and riley and love you so so much. and lucy, i love you too my little pumpkin but just know that thanksgiving only comes round once a year. dont get used to this.
up next: lucy isnt coughing anymore.... stay tuned.