Our Lucy

We made the decision to put our Lucy girl down yesterday. She had surgery at the end of November to remove a massive tumor on her stomach and the tumor reappeared less than three months later. We didn't want to put her through another surgery in such a short time so we spoiled her rotten until we felt that she was ready to go. For some reason, I really wanted her to make it to Virginia so she could chase the squirrels. She had a blast chasing them in my parents' backyard for the 6 weeks that we crashed with them. I had no idea how much I would miss her and she's only been gone for 24 hours. All this morning I've caught myself wondering when she will venture downstairs. After Benjamin finished eating breakfast, I was waiting for her to appear to clean up his crumbs on the floor. Even when she was in another part of the house, she always seemed to have a sixth sense about knowing when Benjamin was finished eating and it was her turn to clean up! When I opened up my drawer to get out my socks (Lucy's cue that I was going to put on my tennis shoes for a walk) it was strange not to have her nosing my leg--her way of telling me to hurry up. I've heard a noise on the steps and the kitchen floor a few times this morning and thought to myself, "here comes Lucy" and then had to remind myself that she's gone. Her fourth anniversary of belonging in our family would have been in a month and a half on April 22nd. With Jason deployed and traveling so much during our time in California, Lucy was a fantastic and welcome companion. She was enthusastic about taking walks and playing ball and LOVED going to the beach with Jason. She was always patient with Benjamin and these past few months he has enjoyed giving her her dog treats. He would hold the treat out and she would very carefully and very gently take the biscuit out of his hand. Lucy was the perfect dog for our family and we are thankful for all of the good memories we have her.