Lucy

Siouxsie · Enlightened One

RE: Lucy

FAJ · Enlightened One

Bless her - wherever she ends up, she'll make some lucky family very happy.

dinomartino · Master

Thanks for your support, everyone. Much appreciated, but she is a lovely dog and apart from the usual integration into an existing pack she is no trouble...

We had her out at Newhailes again yesterday and I managed to get some photos of her in action. the beauty of digital photography is that I could take loads of pics and not worry if I just got a tail or a blank field. That dog is really fast! Anyway I'll attach some more pics for her fans in upload-friendly batches starting with a nice action sequence here. Lucy is well camouflaged so you might have to squint but if you look closely you can spot a small grinning blur amongst the grass...

Lucy was very well behaved again and charmed everyone she met. Sample conversation "really? You wanted a greyhound but you have a cat so you got a spaniel instead? And have you thought about a companion for your spaniel....?"

While we were walking we met up with Heather, a behaviourist who will be well known by anyone who walks on the east side of Edinburgh, who was very complimentary about Lucy's confident behaviour. Lucy told off a couple of dogs in an appropriate way when they got out of line and they sorted out their heirarchy in no time and got on with the serious business of running around mad... Lucy took a real shine to Heather's rottie-cross lurcher Bobby who is very similar in temperament.

Lucy's baldy bits are now covered in a lovely peach fuzz so she should be furry again soon. It seems that the condition was just due to stress as we suspected. She is quite pleasant to pet now, having put on a whole kilo since we got her. I know this because we had to go to the vet with her after she and Malcolm had a disagreement while playing out in the back garden last night. As far as I was able to make out, what would normally have been a mild telling off for rudeness got out of hand when one of the dogs became trapped in a fence in our garden (don't ask). The upshot is that Lucy is sporting two small punctures and Malcolm has a limp. Antibiotics for Lucy and Metacam all round... At least we have established a heirarchy in the house now (Malcolm, Lucy, Twiggy, Indy) and they are still good pals so it could have been worse.

More piccies soon.

Dino

greyluvver · GAL Membership Co-Ordinator

Brilliant photos (all of them)! You're being absolutely great fostering parents to Lucy - and she's having so much fun!!

Your updates on her progress are great and a pleasure to read!

Sorry they had a wee mishap in the garden - but dogs will be dogs I suppose

Vee · Graduate

Oh they are excellent photos of Lucy.She looks like shes having the time of her life! You are giving her one happy (non-permanent

)home thats all I can say!

Its lovely reading all about wat she gets up to nn hope to hear more soon !

dinomartino · Master

OK. After that positive feedback I just have to post a couple more piccies of Lucy with her new pals.

The Wild Things pic shows Malcolm, Bobby, Indy and Lucy (L-R) trying to make someone run so they can all chase. Take 5 is the aftermath, Lucy lying in her own crop circle trying to get her breath back while her new boyfriend Bobby waits for her to make a run for it. Chien is in the background. Somewhere between these two were endless pics of field, sky, tails and amorphous blobs. Got to work out the Sport setting on that camera! The pics ended up big so that's all that will fit in 512k...

I've a couple of other pics from the same walk that turned out arty (i.e. they would have gained a sticker from Boots but capture the spirit of the dogs....) that I'll get up tomorrow

Christine Young · GAL Newsletter Editor

Dino - these pictures are a joy to see! And it's just what we experience too when we let Vegas off for a good run in the field with his pals. It's so exhilarating to see them run for fun!

You're doing a great job fostering Lucy and it's obvious she's having a ball with you, Malcolm, Twiggy and Indie.

Looking forward to seeing tomorrow's arty photos - I'm sure I'll love those. And to hearing more about Lucy's adventures.

Christine

Siouxsie · Enlightened One

Really enjoyed looking at the photos. Lucy seems to be coming along just fine, looks like she will be able to settle into a forever home no problem, and with the reports on her it shouldnt be too long.

Siouxsie

dinomartino · Master

Lucy was caught scoffing a tray of freshly roasted nuts last night after a security breach. Double entendres on a postcard please...

Boots reject photos attached as threatened....

1 As Alsatian Gemma closes in Lucy switches to Hyperdrive
2 Lucy mid scamper
3 A pastoral scene. Heather's Basset Morag is at the front with our three and Bobby (& Jade's wellies) in the background.

Our other girl Twiggy has been limping around for 2 months with a tendon injury and was left at home (snif!) while we were all having fun in the park. She was at the vet yesterday as well getting X-rays. If our vet had a loyalty scheme I reckon we would have enough airmiles for a trip to South America...

max · Enlightened One

Lucy looks so cheeky and happy Ihope it,s not too long before she finds her forever home, but i think as soon as someone see,s that sweet face it won,t be long.

Christine Young · GAL Newsletter Editor

Lucy's action shots are just superb, Dino. Love the basset in the foreground of the 3rd picture. What a lovely expression he/she has!

Christine

dinomartino · Master

Tried to upload this last night but without success...

Today was hard for Lucy as she was left alone (our dogs were in the next room) twice for more than an hour but she did very well. Although happy to see us come back she didn't destroy anything and it was one of our dogs that peed in the hall!

To make up we took her for a lovely walk and she made some new friends. I'm still playing with my new camera so have some more shots attached from todays walk. As you can see Lucy & Malcolm are getting on fine. In fact she is paying him big respect now and everyone knows exactly where they stand... She meets every dog beautifully and is very good at initiating play. Poppy is a lovely Shepherd cross lurcher who she met today for the first time. They took a little time to work out who was in charge but then had lots of fun. Poppy is watching Lucy wriggling around in the second shot and trying to get another chase. The last shot is Lucy running to me with a big grin when called. What a star!

She was off lead for most of her walk today, even near to the woods where we thought she might like to go hunting, but she stayed with the pack most of the time with occasional trips further away to check out some interesting smells.

Can't wait to see her with all her fur! We have to be very careful with her harnesss and collar at the moment to avoid rubbing her bare skin. Even with the fleecy harness she gets sore if she runs in it so we now let her off without and just put it back on for lead walking.

dinomartino · Master

Ah. Last photie must have tipped me over the limit so here it is...

Calatria · Master

Brilliant pics. I see what you mean about the "Boots rejects", but I thought that one with Lucy switching to "hyperdrive" was fantastic. The other dog would've been left far behind. Lucy's obviously having the time of her life.

Lesley · Guru

These pics are lovely - she looks absolutely gorgeous and full of fun.

Christine Young · GAL Newsletter Editor

Hi Dino - your action shots of Lucy are superb! I love the one of her running towards you grinning away like mad! What a great time she's having with you all.

Christine

Siouxsie · Enlightened One

Lucy looks like she just loves life to the full and after what happened in her last home, it is just wondeful to see the joy in her face. An absolute credit to the work you are doing and obviously loads of tlc.

dinomartino · Master

Lucy will have been with us 2 weeks tomorrow and has settled in very well. It will be very hard to let her go but we decided to foster again knowing that there is no way that we can take another dog on permanently. So for anyone who is tempted by her charms here's a quick summary of what to expect...

Good points:
Healthy
Perfect teeth
Fantastic when meeting dogs
Cat-safe
Good off-lead
Housetrained
Confident
Affectionate
Full of fun
Cute as a button

What more could you want?

Bad points? Nothing that a bit of consistancy won't iron out...

She is a bit barky and jumps up (and occasionally mouthy) when excited, but she is improving steadily with a little guidance.
She will stare at you when you are eating and thinks that she should get the leftovers. But this is also responding to training and now when I ask her for a "down" she stays put for about 10 minutes before she breaks again... Also a tea leaf when the opportunity presents itself. Both of these traits are less of an issue now that she is putting some weight back on and becoming less obsessed by food.
Still a bit baldy! Her throat, chest & belly hair is starting to grow in again but we have to be careful that she is not rubbed by her collar and harness...

That's about it! She's a fantastic dog who just needs a permanent home to make her feel safe & happy. Go on, you know you want to!

-- Edited by dinomartino at 18:30, 2005-10-30

Siouxsie · Enlightened One

If my girls where older I would jump at the chance to take Lucy, she really does sound like a diamond

. I really don't think it will be long before she gets her forever home.

S

Siouxsie · Enlightened One

Hello,

Not heard any news on Lucy recently, any updates?????

-- Edited by Siouxsie at 23:31, 2005-11-08

dinomartino · Master

We just got back from our holidays at Westwood House near Kelso. All had a lovely time and I got a couple of nice shots of the hounds frolicking on the beach at Bamburgh on the one sunny day. I'll post a couple when I get a chance....
We wil all be at the Yellowcraigs walk tomorrow so look forward to seeing some of you then.

Dino

dinomartino · Master

Lucy's holiday snaps attached as threatened... Will spread them over 2 posts.
D

dinomartino · Master

..... and finally worn down by tenacious Weimaraner pup Maddy..

bluesmumanddad · Master

What fantastic action shots. I love the one where Lucy looks ready to pounce! You are doing a great job with her

Teresa · Enlightened One

what terrific pictures, well done

Dave · Enlightened One

Dino, GREAT piccies, remember it's only 11 months till I'll start asking for submissions for the 2007 GAL calander, happy to accept some early entries if you want to send me a few good ones!!...

greyluvver · GAL Membership Co-Ordinator

Great photos again - Lucy is very lucky having such a great fun foster home !

Lesley · Guru

Great pics., and what gorgeous weather you had! Looks like a fantastic break for everyone.

emma · Guru

Wow, really enjoyed all the pics especially the action shots (you certainly know how to catch them).

Lucy is a lucky girly to have been fostered by you and I can't believe how well she looks - well done.

Em, Tig and Chad x

Christine Young · GAL Newsletter Editor

Great pictures of you all enjoying your break at Westwood House. Lucy looks so well and happy and she's coming on leaps and bounds with you! Looks as if it was lots of fun for both you and the dogs. What a great job you're doing with her!!

Christine