My Beloved Lucy

Lucy is my dog. She is a 4-year-old Papillon, and she has been mine since she was only 5 weeks old. I formerly owned her father, Scrappy, but I gave him away at Artie's insistence because we could never get him housetrained. He was a little doll! The couple that I gave Scrappy to promised me that I could have one of his first pups, so they called me when he sired his first litter. I chose Lucy right away. She was the smallest and was so cute with her "mismark" (only having one eye covered in brown fur instead of both eyes). I would never be able to use her as a show dog because of this. She is considered an imperfect Papillon for that reason, but I think it just makes her more adorable.

The first week I had her she almost died. Apparently toy breeds can have very low blood sugar when they are puppies, and she had a very scary bout with that. She became almost comatose. I called an emergency vet (it was Thanksgiving weekend) and they told me to try giving her honey. I put honey on my fingertip and put it in her mouth. After a few attempts at this, she finally started coming around again. It was scary!
She has lived in 3 different homes with us, and had a brief stay (for a few months) with my high-school friend, Robin, when Artie gave a "doggie ultimatum" and forced me to get rid of her. After he saw how very sad I was and how much I missed her, he eventually called Robin and got Lucy back for me. Robin was such an angel to let me have her back!!

Lucy is not a perfect dog. She begs for food constantly, goes crazy at the first sound of a crackling package (hoping for food), and still occasionally goes pee-pee in the house. She can't sleep in the bed with me because she has to stand on high alert at the foot of the bed and growl at any night sounds. She is a total pest anytime food is around. She jumps and begs and pleads and cries and will take food right off your fork if you accidentally, say, wave it around during conversation or such.
Artie really does not like Lucy. He has nicknames for her that are best not included in my blog. Her very presence in a room irritates him. But he puts up with her because he loves ME, and he knows I love HER.

And I certainly do LOVE her! She is waiting at the door for me when I get home from work. She jumps and dances and whines like I've been gone for days. She practically leaps into my arms when I bend over to pet her or pick her up. She follows me upstairs to change out of my work clothes. She follows me to the bathroom. She follows me everywhere I go for the rest of the night. She sits by my side in the recliner or on the couch, and if I sit outside, she is on the ottoman right in front of my feet. She licks me and wags her fluffy tail and generally just seems happy that I'm alive and present. If I'm sad, she can sense it and looks at me with her little beady brown eyes and wags and licks and wags and licks until I smile. She loves me, no matter what kind of mood I'm in or if I'm having a fat day or if my makeup is all rubbed off. She just loves me, and she is my beloved Lucy.