A letter from Elizabeth, who adopted Lucy:

Zoey is now called Lucy and she is indeed bringing me tremendous amounts of joy.

A little more about me. I lost the love of my life, a wonderful black lab, on September 1st. She was my faithful companion for 14 years and saw me through a tremendous amount of life. I always told people she was much cheaper than therapy. Three years ago I took over the care of Coda, when my Mom died. She is a 14+ year old Aussie mix.

I met Lucy at Petsmart in Brentwood. Long story short--in a 90 second encounter she dug her head into my chest and I was gone. I couldn't pursue adoption that day (I had to get back to work) but couldn't stop thinking about her. Two days later I tracked her down, and within 4 days of our first encounter she moved in with me.

As the weeks have gone by her energy and curiosity have increased! We are working hard on training, walking lots, and gaining some weight. She has gained 5+ pounds and looks fabulous! She has not replaced my lab, but she has given abundant love and filled a void in my life. My favorite moments are when she climbs in my lap in the evening and falls asleep while I watch TV--my 50 pound lap dog!

My only significant challenge is her barking when I leave. She is very content in her crate, but clearly there are some anxiety issues when she knows I'm leaving. I've worked on transition time as well as giving her a raw bone to keep her busy. Nonetheless it's taking some time.

Attached you'll find a recent photo. We are both happy, my Aussie mix is tolerant (!), and we are grateful this holiday season for DCAWS. Back