Sweet
Lucy has been part of our family for over nine years now! She is still
very youthful, energetic and playful. When she meets new people in the
street, they think that she is a puppy. However, she has also gotten a
bit "crankier" with age and on occasion lets us know with that rolling
terrier growl that she is not happy with something (but, of course, we don't let her get away
with it). For example, when we humans or our other dogs want her to give
up that good spot on the sofa. Well, who wouldn't get mad about that... :o)
Her
general health is good. She still has excellent eyesight and hearing, and
has no trouble running around if needed. Last year, she had a little skintag
growing on her nose. (My old Xolos have them as well.) Our vet removed the
benign growth with cryosurgery. That was it. With age, her brown skin spots
have increased in size and number. As a puppy, her left side was all pink.
Now it is covered with spots. She also has started developing age related
"white freckles" on her face in the brown areas.
Lucy's
biggest health scare happened a couple of years ago when she was viciously
attacked by a loose dog on the street. Lucy was on a leash, of course. (How
I wish that all dog owners would obey the leash laws and keep their dogs
under control. Especially the large dogs! We have had several close calls
with them.) Lucy and I had no idea there was even a dog in the vicinity until
the swift and silent attack happened. Like an explosion without any warning.
This dog was larger than Lucy and attacked her without any kind of provocation.
Lucy had multiple scrapes and bite wounds covering her body. One of the bites
damaged her abdominal wall causing a small part of the intestines to bulge
out. She had surgery that same day and, fortunately, recovered with no
complications or residuals. Poor Lucy...!
Lucy
has kept her figure. She is still the perfect 12lb and 12" she was eight
years ago as a young adult. She free-eats dry dog food and enjoys additional treats as well.
Lucy
stopped the sofa destruction a long time ago (switching from fabric to leather
sofa helped too). Now, whenever she feels the urge to chew, she will go to
her toybox and pick a stuffed toy instead. Occasionally, she still tries
to nibble fabrics, like our t-shirts. Also, product tags are the greatest
to nibble on, in her opinion. The best part of her chewtoys is often the
tag!
Lucy
also likes to play-fight through the fence with our neighbor's dog. When
Lucy notices that her doggie neighbor is at the fence, she gets all excited
and starts breathing heavily in anticipation of a good barking showdown.
It's the highlight of her day. After the barking match she comes back in
all energized and happy. Can't take the terrier out of the AHT! However,
Lucy knows that I don't tolerate that loud behavior, so, she only does it
when I'm nowhere to be seen. That little rascal... :o)
For
the complete list of Sweet Lucy's 80+ pages, go to
sitemap.
Happy, happy
birthday Sweet Lucy!!!