Lucky 1995-2006

A dedicated volunteer from another breed rescue  found Lucky in the sick bay of a high-kill, crowded shelter, one dark and stormy December night right after Christmas.  A volunteer went the next day to pull him from the shelter, to the noticeable gratitude of the attending animal control officer, who knew that she would have to euthanize him otherwise.  He was picked up as a stray on December 21, wearing his collar and tags.  The shelter contacted his owner, first by phone (but the number was disconnected), then by letter (which was never answered).  We wonder if Lucky's elderly owner died, leaving him to fend for himself, as happens all too often.  Yes, the name his owners gave him is "Lucky"... and we hope that name is fitting.

How this ancient collie could be a stray, we cannot imagine.  He could barely stand, much less walk, when we got him.  He was filthy and severely matted everywhere.  He looked like he had not seen a bath or brush in years.  His teeth were so encrusted with tartar they were not recognizable.  His eyes were cloudy and his two hind legs just barely functioned to propel him along. On that first night, his foster person spent 3 hours grooming him.  He lay with his head on her knee as she groomed him, while they sat together on the floor.  The brushing clearly felt good and he quickly fell asleep.  Yet after his grooming, she found that he could not really stand and appeared to be incontinent.  She resolved to take him to the veterinarian the next morning to send him to peace--at least he would spend his last night warm, clean, dry, and with a good meal in his stomach.

The next morning, Lucky was, well, better!  And each day he got better yet.  Months passed with Lucky thriving and doing better than ever in his foster home.  He always had a hearty appetite and insisted on his daily walk, which got getting longer and longer.  He would follow his foster mom around, hoping for hugs and scratches.  He knew his name and perked up when he heard it and come when he was called.  He was a complete character, very opinionated!  When he was done with his meal and there was still food in his bowl, he would bang the bowl with his head to get it out of his sight.  He loved to "chase" and retrieve a ball, if you bounced it in front of him and didn't roll it away too quickly.  He was SO proud of himself when he caught it and brought it back.  He must have been the world's cutest puppy, some time long ago. 

A little more than a year after we brought him home from the shelter,  and living to see Christmas 2005, Lucky suddenly succumbed to congestive heart failure.   His health wavered only in the last few days.  He even took a last walk the evening before he died.  He slept peacefully wrapped in blankets that night, but in the morning he could not get up.  We were blessed to share his last year with him.