Our dog Lucy was born on June 26, 2001 at Amaranth Kennel near Shelbourne, Ontario. A purebred black Labrador Retriever, Lucy’s full official name was Amaranth’s Lucy in the Sky. We named her Lucille, after a character in the Junie B. Jones book series that Lexi was reading at the time. It also seemed fitting to have another “L” female in the house- Lianne , Lexi and Lucy.

In June 2001, we had just moved back to Toronto, after living away for six years in Ottawa and Minneapolis. When we told the kids that we would be moving again (leaving friends and changing schools for the second time in two years), we dangled a carrot in front of them. We promised that when we got settled in the new house, we would get a puppy. This bandage helped a little bit with the tough good-byes and the challenges of another new start. Paisley had been our wedding gift to each other, so the kids had never experienced raising a puppy. Paisley was getting older and slowing down, so it seemed like the perfect time to introduce a new puppy to the family. We brought Lucy home at the end of August, just as Ross turned 3 years old. The children were delighted with this new addition to our family.

One of the most memorable tales of Lucy’s life happened in her first week with us. In the summer months, it was our habit to take a family walk after dinner. Now with a new puppy, it did not take much to convince the kids to go out for this family ritual. They all wanted a turn at holding Lucy’s small red leash and guiding her through our new neighbourhood. As is always the case, having a dog and especially an adorable puppy is a great way to meet your new neighbours. It was the last week of summer holidays and families were trickling back into the city, preparing for the start of another school year.

Paul dragged the empty wagon, I held onto Paisley’s leash, Jack and Ross ran ahead and Lexi carefully gripped Lucy’s red leash, guiding her along the sidewalk. It was a beautiful summer evening and a perfect night for an after-dinner-walk. We were coming to the end of the sidewalk on a quiet sidestreet, when Lucy saw a squirrel in our path. Lucy bolted after the squirrel, and the leash flew out of Lexi’s hand. Lexi immediately sprung into action, in hot pursuit of Lucy, fearing that she was about to rush across the street ahead and into the path of a car. Just before the sidewalk ended, Lexi dove on top of Lucy, stopping her in her tracks. Both Lucy and Lexi starting crying.

We put Lexi in the wagon, clutching her wrist and sobbing. I carried the frightened puppy, who couldn’t stop whimpering. By the time we reached our driveway, Lucy had stopped crying and Lexi hadn’t. Lexi would not let go of her wrist, which led us to conclude that a trip to the hospital was in order. Lexi broke her wrist saving her puppy from running in front of a car, and started grade two at a new school the next week with a shiny, white cast.

Lucy quickly adapted to life in our busy household. She loved accompanying me to and from the schoolyard, where children would smother her with love and affection. One year the school got a new principal who did not like dogs. On the first day of school we arrived in the schoolyard and saw a sign that banned dogs from the schoolyard. Lucy was relegated to outside the fence, however, her fan club found her, and the cuddles did not stop.

Lucy quickly became Paisley’s shadow and followed him wherever he went. Paisley proved to be a very good teacher, and soon Lucy was obediently following routines. They snuggled in Paisley’s bed in the family room, overflowing over the sides as Lucy grew. As Paisley edged towards retirement, Lucy took his spot on long family walks. The two dogs became best friends, and several years later when Paisley died, Lucy was so sad she stopped going for walks for weeks, pining for her lost companion.

Lucy was a sweetheart, right from the beginning. She took her job of barking at the front door quite seriously, guarding the house and our family. Despite their size and their bark, Labrador Retrievers are gentle giants. You could put your hand down Lucy’s throat and she would never, ever bite. The children lay on her, the boys wrestled with her and she was smothered with love. Lucy patiently received all of this attention and thumped her tail with pleasure. Lucy diligently kept the floor clean underneath the kitchen table. She was always hungry and willing to clean up dropped morsels of food. She would retrieve a tennis ball until she would collapse in happy exhaustion. She walked off-leash between Paul and I with such obedience, other dog- people commented. We named her obedient heeling, “The Position”, and never quite understood why and how she knew to stay by our sides.

When Ross was six years old, his first loose tooth was dangling in his mouth and I asked him if I could pull it out. Always thinking outside the box, Ross chose Lucy to be the one to pull his first tooth. Ross tied a string around his tooth and attached the string to Lucy’s collar. He threw a dog biscuit out the backdoor and Lucy (a lover of all food) followed- out popped Ross’ tooth. How many kids can say that their family dog pulled out their first tooth?

One day Lucy was mistakenly left in the mudroom with a bag of dog kibble. After one hour I noticed she was missing and ran for the mudroom, immediately realizing why Lucy had been so quiet and not objecting to her accidental imprisonment. Lucy had opened the bag and had finished off one-third of it. Her stomach bulged like she had swallowed a basketball. Lucy waddled through the house, as I directed her to the backyard, where she was left as she suffered the consequences of her unbridled appetite. Let’s just say, it wasn’t pretty and I never made that mistake again!

Each Hallowe’en the kids dressed-up Lucy and insisted that I bring her to the Lambton-Kingsway School’s Hallowe’en parade. One year she was a witch, then a bride and finally a convict. Lucy’s costume usually matched one of the kids’ costumes. On Hallowe’en night, I would tie Lucy to the bannister, in the front hall where Lucy could greet the trick-or-treaters, and show-off her costume. Lucy was such a good sport and always went with the flow.

Lucy helped the kids’ transition to staying at home alone. In the early days, when Paul and I would go out and leave Lexi in charge, Lucy would be dragged up to a Lexi’s bedroom and held captive, as a protector until we got home. Soon Lucy had a permanent spot in Lexi’s room, so happy to be upstairs with the family.

Everyone loved Lucy. The cousins, who didn’t have a dog of their own, considered Lucy to be their dog when they visited and were always so excited to see her and smother her with attention. The kids’ friends loved Lucy as well, and showered her with love over lunch dates, play-dates and sleepovers. Lucy especially loved her Grandpa Colin who always had special treats for her, and who lovingly cared for her in recent years while we travelled.

Lucy recovered from her depression over the loss of Paisley when Happy the Border Terrier became part of our family in September 2006. Happy made all of us happy, especially Lucy. As Lucy eased into retirement and could not join us on longer walks, Happy became my walking partner. Happy loved to snuggle up with Lucy and his small body was the perfect pillow for her. Lucy passed on her obedience training to Happy, and Happy assumed “The Position” on walks with Paul and me. When Happy passed away suddenly in August 2014, Lucy couldn’t understand where her little friend had gone. Lucy stared at me with her sad brown eyes, looking for answers.

In September 2014, Scout the Border Collie joined our family. We all felt the tremendous loss of Happy, and we decided a new puppy was the only way we would start to feel better. Lucy was 13 years old and a very old dog. It was not the best time to introduce a very busy puppy, however once again Lucy went with the flow. Lucy patiently allowed Scout to climb on her back, chew her ears and take over the job of top dog. Scout gave Lucy some renewed energy and Lucy began engaging more with the family again. Scout quickly learned to respect Lucy and her age, and was gentle with her, cleaning her ears at every opportunity.

Lucy loved to spend time at our place in Caledon. As we would make the final few turns of our drive, Lucy would perk up, thumping her tail, ready to stretch her legs and explore. The snow and cold always provided great relief for Lucy’s stiff joints and sore paws and she was able to go for longer walks in the winter than in the summer. Last winter, Lucy wandered away from the chalet, following her early morning breakfast. It was a snowy and cold morning. Something must have smelled good in the ravine behind the chalet and Lucy set-out to find it. Her eyesight was minimal, her hearing was gone and her mobility was limited- I don’t know what she was thinking! From the kitchen table, we heard Lucy’s plaintive bark from far away. I was nominated by Paul to go out and find her (the dogs always belong to me, when there is an issue). Lucy had slid halfway down the ravine. She was neither up nor down and was lying in the snow, not sure what to do. It was easier to bring her down the hill, rather than up, so I trudged through the deep snow into the ravine and grabbed her collar to guide her home. After this adventure, Lucy stuck close to home the rest of the winter and avoided the edge of the ravine.

It is remarkable that Lucy lived for so long, as she suffered several health issues early in her life- such much so, when Lucy was younger, Paul nicknamed her Lululemon. As a young dog she got a piece of a stick stuck in the pallet of her mouth. One day I noticed that her pallet was very swollen. The vet removed the stick and Lucy lost her four front teeth, forever with the smile of a six-year-old child. Lucy’s mouth chemistry was never good, resulting in tooth decay and the loss of several more teeth. Her bad breath was her nemesis, and one of the only complaints the kids ever had about her. Lucy had a bad front left paw from the beginning. We were never sure if it was a birth defect or an injury when she was a puppy. It could have been from when Lexi heroically dove on her to save her from running into traffic. Nevertheless, Lucy’s left paw turned inwards and caused her discomfort for much of her life. Lucy bravely soldiered on. She was always game to go for walks, and always wanting to be a part of the family. During the last few years of her life, Lucy stuck close to home and was kept comfortable with a daily dose of Medicam and numerous other pain-relieving drugs. As she was gripped with anxiety and possibly dementia in her final months, Lucy took Xanax pills. The pharmacist at the local Shopper’s Drug Mart had a chuckle when I explained whom the pills were for. Rosemary and Wendy, our outstanding vets at Kingsway Animal Hospital, kindly cared for Lucy for her entire life and gave us their best advice when we knew the end was near.

It is never easy deciding when it is time to say good-bye to a beloved family pet. Paul and I agonized about it for over a year. Despite her ailments and discomfort, Lucy always wagged her tail when we were close-by and loved to be petted and brushed. Lucy always had an appetite and her internal clock knew when it was time for a meal and she would let us know- you could set your watch by it. Her strong sense of smell never dulled. Lucy would wake from a dead sleep whenever Paul would light the bbq, eagerly anticipating the leftovers from a steak night dinner. When Lucy struggled to walk, was losing control of her hind- quarters and barked often in distress, we knew it was time. Labs typically live 10 to 12 years, and Lucy lived 15 years and 4 months. She lived a great life, yet final good-byes are so tough.

Lucy was the dog our kids grew up with. Ross was 3, Jack was 5, and Lexi was 7 when we adopted Lucy. Lucy was the gentle friend to Paisley, Happy and Scout. We could not have asked for a kinder, gentler, sweeter dog than our Lucy. Lucy was a happy dog and a loving member of our family. Lucy passed away on October 14th, 2016. She will be greatly missed.

Lexi age 7

Jack age 5

Ross age 3