And Then Came Lucky

Lucky Lucy at about 8 weeks

And then, in February of 2009, John and I also rescued a second dog, Lucky Lucy, a mixed breed puppy we guess has some Rhodesian Ridgeback, Lab, Boxer, maybe Pit Bull, and who knows what else in her. Cutest thing I ever saw in a big dog! Solid as a rock at 8 weeks.  She was found wandering down the River Road at about 7 weeks, starving and full of fleas and worms. A fellow club member (Amanda) found her, cleaned her up, brought her to a USDAA trial in Baton Rouge where I was volunteering.  I had my grandson, Jonathan, with me and he fell in love with her immediately. Despite her sad beginnings, she was always friendly, optimistic, boisterous, and we quickly found out she could jump a 2 foot fence to get to the yard we were in, at only 8 weeks.  Uh Ho!  Do I have another agility dog to train?

Lucky on her 1st Birthday, which we designated to be
Thanksgiving Day

Lucky has grown into a 50 lb. athelete who loves toys, runs like the wind, will retrieve and catch endlessly, has incredible spacial awareness, and jumps a 5' fence without thinking about it. One thing for sure, she will require a different training regimen than my 7 lb Maxie who has almost no interest in toys and doesn't know the meaning of "go get it". Since the AKC has just begun to accept mixed breeds in competition, looks like I really do have another dog to train.

I registered her in AKC's mixed breed program on October 1, 2009, and she proudly wears the AKC's Car Tag, which has saved her a couple of times from being lost.  AKC published her rescue story here.

This is just more inspiration piling up around me. If she's a sight hound, next thing I know, I may have to try her on lure coursing!   Maybe even tracking.  I'll keep trying to figure out what she is.

Lucky for me. And Lucky for Lucky. Seeing how eager my dogs are to learn, it seems a darn shame that so many dogs just lounge around the house all day. What a waste of their sharp minds and skill potential, not to mention the incredible boredom they must endure which makes them tear up furniture, dig holes, steal food, become aggressive, and run away from home seeking a bit of adventure.

So, my mandate is set. I've got 4 dogs.  My friends have started calling me Dog MaMa.  My blog begins. I'll spend a few days or weeks scrambling to recapture the past 2.5 years, referring readers to other pet related essays I've written along the way (upper right links), like when I injured my knee and we couldn't practice for several months and were both so deeply depressed, I realized agility had gotten deep under my skin. Then I hope I can keep this current.

Gotta go for now. More later.