Her Royal Highness Princess Lucy

We just adopted a dog. I feel like I just adopted the Queen of England.

Every time I had to interact with the people from this rescue group they made me not only feel like a criminal hell bent on collecting dogs for my dog fighting/dog meat supplier ring. They also made me feel like a bumbling moron for doing seemingly innocuous things like buying Science Diet Puppy Food and using a retractable leash.

We made it through the first part of the adoption process (after calling several times to get our home inspection and prove that we were truly serious about welcoming a dog into our lives) and began fostering her for a one week trial just to be sure our cats wouldn't hate the dog so much they started spraying our closets with urine.

After the one week trial we were ready to sign the papers and go forward with our adoption but because Logan was out of town and unable to sign the LEGALLY BINDING (I was reminded of this many times....I think I signed a paper offering up my first born if I do anything stupid like USE A RETRACTABLE LEASH) contract we had to wait another week.

But oh boy that week they found out my indoor cats were behind on their rabies shots and couldn't in good conscience give me a dog knowing about my "neglectful nature". So I took the cats in and had them vaccinated.

When I came by to have our dog's stitches removed one of the adoption managers exclaimed, 'Are you feeding her!?"

Oh I have to FEED the dog!?

In the week before we signed the papers the name we were planning to give our dog was critiqued, "Well that's a nice name but so popular! Oh it's really very popular! It's not very unique." (Her given name was Princess....which is so unique?) and the vet we use was met with a hesitant "hmmm".

when we went for the final signing of the adoption contract I had collected all the health records for the cats to prove I was a fit pet parent and a letter from our landlord declaring that he didn't give a flying fig if we got a dog. And they didn't want any of those papers, but in case I forgot, Lucy is a VERY COMMON NAME.

Then all the papers were signed and I agreed to a lot of things I never thought I would agree to, like if my vet and I decide my dog has inoperable brain cancer I have to contact the agency and have approval to put her out of her misery, but I loved this dog and they could have taken part time custody of my kids and I may have still signed on the dotted line. I think they even baptized Lucy as a Catholic and I was powerless.

When we left they took our picture with Lucy, The Commonly Named Dog, and one of the agency leaders said choking up, "Do you think you'll bring her back to see us when we're at adoption fairs near your home?"

And I wanted to cry.

I forgave everything they did because they loved our pup and honestly she's probably as good a dog as she is because of their strict regulations and the excellent care and socializing her foster parents gave her even though she was abandoned.

So yeah I'll bring her back to see them and I'll send them pictures of her laying in front of the fire on her new dog bed and I'll probably give the dog a kidney if she needs it and take her to mass for Ash Wednesday just like that adoption contract specified.

I thought we were getting a dog because Maddie really wanted one.

It turns out I really needed a dog.

Comments

[Brenda]

Congratulations! That is one fine looking dog :-)

[shandy]

Adorable puppy! Great name (common...psh)! And great story!

[Kizz]

Yeah, you probably did but you were waiting for this one who seems pretty fucking perfect. Thanks for sharing her on the internet, she's gorgeous.

[Heather]

Oh, man, now I need a dog too. It's not catchy is it? So very thrilled for you guys. I have a feeling with those eyes, miss Lucy will get away with just about anything.

[kris]

science diet = horrible food. i'm surprised they allowed you a second chance on that one... lucy is a great name and i can not think of another one i know and believe me, i know lots of dogs...

[elsimom]

Awww. . .. look at that face!

[AnEmily]

I'm so happy for you guys! Whew. Sounds like she was worth all the trouble in the end!

[John C]

I love your dog.

[Aine]

Aw, that made me tear up.

(FWIW, Lucy is a great name. Also, what is so bad about a retractable leash? I'm freaking out now because that's pretty much all we've ever used.)

[Amy]

Wait--what's wrong with retractable leashes? Don't worry, I don't have a dog so I'm not out endangering one on a regular basis.

[suzi]

Congratulations on your new addition. I can't believe you had to go through all of this to adopt her but its great that they were so concerned-it means that they care. :)

Good luck! I am sure Princess Lucy is the happiest dog on the planet. Or, in Michigan at least. ha. :)

[AmyinMotown]

OMG SO CUTE. The eyes!!

Yeah, our dog adoption people were annoying, but only about 60 percent that level of crazy. These are people, understand, who love dogs more than people. Not just some dogs more than some people, but all dogs more than any people. But the lady who fostered our dog was so sweet and thought we were a perfect family for her, and I emailed her for a few years afterward letting her know how our dog was doing and what a sweet dog she is (yes she makes me craaazzzyyy, but she is a sweet, nice girl).

[Honor]

Beautiful! Exactly how every adoption story (minus the condescending adoption folks part) should go. Congratulations, Lucy Summers and family!

[Jeff Drongowski]

Congrats! Adopting my mutt is the best decision I've made in the last three years. Also, I use a retractable leash and I am a reasonably good person.

[cee]

When I adopted my cat, I named her Lucy. :)

I don't know what their problem with retractable leashes is, but Science Diet really is crap food. Stay away from anything sold in a grocery store: they have lots of unnecessary additives and fillers like corn and wheat. Your vet can probably recommend a better food.

[Melissa Summers]

The retractable leash can break I guess.

[Melissa Summers]

VETS RECOMMEND Science Diet and it isn't sold in Grocery Stores, at least not where I live.

We did switch her food to something else because of the fillers (and her resulting gas) but come on.....it's not like I was feeding her Kibble and Bits.

[nelking]

Well shoot, my second son would have been Lucy. Common names are good. Just wish children services cared as much.

Congrats on what looks like a wonderful pup to a wonderful home.

[Jennifer]

You should have told them it was just short for Lucy-fur, and seen their reaction.

[Alice]

Best post ever. This made my day. No, my week!

Didn't you tell them her full name is Princess Lucy Softpaws McWumples?

[Jen]

Congrats on uncommon Lucy! I've done animal rescue myself, and have worked with other rescues, and yes, they can get quite demanding. It comes from a place of love though, and trust me, if you had seen some of the horrific abuse cases that anyone in rescue has seen, you would probably understand why they want blood type and a bone marrow sample prior to letting any animal go. It's a sad reality. I'm so glad she went to such a great home! Yay for Lucy! Love that name, by the way.

[Vanessa]

Ha! This whole post was great, but I nearly fell down laughing at the part where they baptized Lucy as a Catholic. :)

The requirements for adopting dogs must be a lot stricter than for cats. One of our cats came from a rescue, and I did fill out some paperwork with questions about where she was going to sleep (like you can dictate where a cat sleeps) and whether I had a pack of pit bulls or small children at home. But then they just took my $60 and put her into the carrier for me and we left. Easy peasy.

[Lisa V]

I think you should've said your first choice, Moon Unit was taken.

Hey our dog's name is Daisy. Half the kids in my son's class have the same name. It's life.

[Amy]

Oh crap, I named my KID Lucy. We totally should have gone with our second choice, which was Princess.

[a-non]

1)she's so pretty and lucy is a great name
2)I don't think she's a Labrador retriever or a dachshund, you may want a second opinion on the breed
3)As far as the food goes, anything with corn as the first ingredient is terrible. If the rescue didn't give you a brand recommendation that you're happy with, start reading labels, look for one with a meat product as the first ingredient.

[sheusedtohaveaname]

She looks like the perfect fit for your family. Enjoy her. Of course it will take a few weeks to become acclimated, but I think she has found her people.

[fnc]

Aw, I'm glad she makes you happy, as a bonus to making Maddie happy. Also? Amy @ 12:49 = hysterical!

[Kelly]

Lucy is gorgeous, and has SUCH a GREAT NAME! If we had a second girl dog she would be Lucy - our first is named Lola (also common).

[msp]

funny how they work their way into your heart without you even knowing. We had to put our 11-yr old black lab to sleep in november and in december adopted Benson - a hound/ger shep mix - from a shelter. Lucy is a lucky gal to have found her true family.

[Barb]

I'm smiling from ear to ear. So happy for you!

[Kristine]

Congratulations! She is so beautiful. Her little tilted head in that photo makes my heart melt. I almost started crying when I read your last line because it is so true.

My husband and I just adopted our first dog last April. The experience has been nothing like we expected and she is nothing like the dog I had wanted. But she is quite clearly the dog I desperately needed.

[Lucy]

I have to agree that Lucy is a great name. I've had it for 41 years now. She's a beauty! Congrats!

[Julie V]

What a great story! It makes me miss my Lucy dog. I know you will enjoy your Lucy as much as I did mine!

[Raz8]

We adopted Clyde (given name Shooter, which name sucked)from Find Your Best Friend at the Zoo a few years ago. A beagle who was found running wild in the woods of Roscommon County up North. He also had obviously been abused. Cleaned him up, got him de-parasited by the vet, and he's turned into a GREAT dog! And the shelter that we adopted him from didn't make us go through any of the crap that you had to.

[Melissa Summers]

Yep too bad I'd fallen in love with this dog.

[amy]

Congratulations! We adopted a dog from a rescue organization a few years ago. They do make you feel a little paranoid about being a fit doggy parent. I guess they just want the best for the dog but my goodness the hoops you have to jump through for these people.

[Beth]

Love this post. Congrats!

[Suki]

Yup, adoption people can be crazy. We got turned down for a dog because they "only adopted to households with at least 1 stay at home parent". Our very qualified friends got turned down for a dog and then watched that dog stay on petfinder for just months and months which was really sad.

On a happier note, it has been so much fun following you as you brought Lucy into the family. Your happiness with and affection for Lucy has been so apparent throughout. Yeah for Lucy! Yeah for you!

[Susan]

Empathizing with the adoption story. We got turned down and weren't even told why -- this particular rescue group doesn't give reasons, apparently.

[Shannon]

Congrats! She is the CUTEST puppy ever - well, after my dog of course. And add me to the list of shit dog owners. I fed my dog science diet (don't anymore only because I got tired of making a special trip - it's not at grocery stores here either) and I have a retractable leash. Our dog is 10 years old and is doing fine. Yours will too.

[Shannon]

Congrats! She is the CUTEST puppy ever - well, after my dog of course. And add me to the list of shit dog owners. I fed my dog science diet (don't anymore only because I got tired of making a special trip - it's not at grocery stores here either) and I have a retractable leash. Our dog is 10 years old and is doing fine. Yours will too.

[Shannon]

Congrats! She is the CUTEST puppy ever - well, after my dog of course. And add me to the list of shit dog owners. I fed my dog science diet (don't anymore only because I got tired of making a special trip - it's not at grocery stores here either) and I have a retractable leash. Our dog is 10 years old and is doing fine. Yours will too.

[karen]

OMG, your last sentence made me tear up!

[Melissa W.]

All I can say---great post. Great, great post.

[Melissa]

Welcome home, Lucy, the beautiful dog with the perfect name!!

I'm so happy for all of you. There's nothing like a good dog.

[Ageekymom]

I loved this post! Lucy is adorable and the name fits!
On the retractable leash thing, I have heard of people getting their fingers cut off after getting tangled in the leash - ouch! Not sure how that would affect the dog though...
While I don't have any dogs at the moment, I have 3 cats and they all eat Purina Cat Chow. Whatever!
On a side note, lately I've been seeing commercials for cat appetizers - you've got to be kidding! What next? Kitty Cocktails???

[Ageekymom]

I loved this post! Lucy is adorable and the name fits!
On the retractable leash thing, I have heard of people getting their fingers cut off after getting tangled in the leash - ouch! Not sure how that would affect the dog though...
While I don't have any dogs at the moment, I have 3 cats and they all eat Purina Cat Chow. Whatever!
On a side note, lately I've been seeing commercials for cat appetizers - you've got to be kidding! What next? Kitty Cocktails???

[Gloria]

I too was laughing along as I went through a similar experience last spring.

I was denied because while I work from home a few days a week, I do go in the office at times. I don't have a fenced in yard and apparently no one believed me that I would actually walk the dog. I had one rescue group worker blatantly tell me she did not believe me when I stated that I would come home at lunch to walk the dog on the days that I worked. This same rescue group required me to drive 1.5 hours one way to meet the dog and she thought it would take multiple visits before she would make up her mind. By the way the adoption fee for that dog was $450.

I wound up buying a puppy through an ad in the paper from what I now found out is considered a backyard breeder. I paid $375 for her and she got sick the next day and I spent another $500 at the vets office. But, like you I loved her and would do anything for her.

She is very well socialized, has never shown any agression and is loved by everyone to the point that when we go on vacation, multiple people ask if they can keep her while we're gone. The friends she stayed with last year said they haven't seen her in a while and want to discuss visitation.

She has had a walk every day and every day I went in the office I came home at lunch to walk her, it's a shame no one believed I could do it.

[annabelle]

Awesome post, awesome dog. A close friend received "Doggie DNA" test as a gift for Christmas and found out the parentage(s) of their mutt. Fun for everyone and quite a surprise!

[Lisame]

Well, my sixteen year old Boston died last October and I wanted to rescue a dog. I found another Boston (an hour a half away) that had been abandoned 'cause her parents lost their house in a foreclosure. In two days she lost her family, her home and her hubby (someone adopted him before I got there) AND HER GIRL PARTS! I let her keep the name she had because I felt she had lost enough.

I now have a non english speaking dog named Princessa (spanish you for princess)and I couldn't be happier.

I'm so glad y'all adopted the perfect dog for you too.

[ella]

Ummmm yeah... I've dealt with "rescue groups". A lot of them are freaks & weirdos.

I am glad y'all passed inspection!

[Laura]

She is adorable. Congratulations. But you do know she owns you now, right?

[kate]

Aaawww. The unconditional love of dogs is so healing, isn't it? So glad you found her and vise-versa. She's really got such a sweet face and the name Lucy fits her perfectly. F*ck 'em.

So do you and Maddie fight over her? :)

[Melissa Summers]

It's been pretty enlightening. Maddie likes lucy for sure but she's not as crazy about her as I am. By far.

[Lee Laughlin]

OH! I just want to squish her!

We lost our 11.5 year old collie last month. Part of me wants another dog RIGHT NOW and part of me knows that waiting is a good idea.

We've talked about the possibility of a rescue, but it remains to be seen what path we take.

Enjoy her!

Lee

[Jess]

I went thirty-five years without *any* interest in pets, and then suddenly... I dunno what happened. The cats and I have been hanging out for two years, and all three of them are lying on the couch right now, snoozing. I have moments when I wonder about crazy cat-lady syndrome, but I've never regretted it. I think you're right, Melissa, we know what we need. :)

Have fun and enjoy her -- she's a doll!

[Erica]

My mother in law adopted a cat a few years ago going through basically the same process. She became 'friends' with one of the adoption ladies who now comes over to visit the cat and have tea. It's a bit weird but my mother in law is weird so yeah.

[Donna]

Read Pet Food Nation by Joan Weiskopf for food recommendations. It's enlightening & educational.

[Kristen]

I'm so glad you found Lucy! I've always had a dog in my life, but having recently moved into an apartment that doesn't allow dogs, I miss having one and I'm terrified of the adoption process once I move. I've heard countless horror stories from wonderful people that I know personally having been denied for the silliest reasons. I know it's that the organizations want these dogs to have the best home possible, but so many are rotting away in shelters, it seems they should lighten up a little bit!

And I think retractable leashes are only dangerous for small dogs...our vet told us that little dogs can get up a lot of speed and then when the leash runs out it snaps them back and can injure their neck. Using a harness instead of a collar would solve that, and I think larger dogs don't run as fast and have stronger bodies.

Best of luck with Princess Lucy!

[Donna]

Also, great pics of Lucy so far!

[Erica]

Also, on the Science Diet..I used to work with a gal whose family owned a bunch of pet supply stores. She told me that Science Diet is sold at the vet because they get a percentage of every bag sold. That's why they push it but it's actually crap. Not sure if that's true but who knows.

[Melissa Summers]

It is actually true but I had no idea.

They approved using the Kirkland brand of puppy food from Costco

[Julie]

That dog is adorable!
Lucy is a common pet name. How do I know? Because my daughter's name is Lucy, and now she hears lots of strange people calling her name when we are out in public!
I still like the name. :)

[Deanna]

Everybody needs a pet. Doggie and kitty love make everything seem better!

[Carrie (in MN)]

Congratulations on Lucy - she's quite cute (and well-named!). I'm curious about the retractable leash too, but I'll bet Kristen's right, it's because it can hurt smaller dogs if they run to the end of it. I use one (my dog is a retriever, so bigger) with a Gentle Leader - it works for us. I once had someone on a fitness website say that retractable leashes were for "lazy people." I thought that was pretty interesting given that I use mine to take my dog for runs, as well as walks...who's lazy now buster?

Anyway, congrats again. I freely admit that having a dog is, for me, a matter of mental health.

[Rocky]

What an adorable puppy! Congratulations!

[Erin]

I thought Science Diet was "fancy food." You're a great mama, congrats on Lucy!

[Lisame]

I came back to look at her face again. I'm so happy for Maddie I could cry!

Also glad you see the importance of having a dog.

YEAH MADDIE!

[claire]

Lucy is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever seen! She has the adorable "Did you want to give me a treat?" head tilt down pat. Rescue groups are very hard to deal with sometimes - I have a good friend who was once a normal person and is now consumed with fostering dogs and gives new owners a very, very hard time. I know they have good intentions, but yeesh.

[Suki]

I meant to say this with my earlier comment- we feed our dogs Flint River Ranch (http://www.frrco.com/)and I would whole-heartedly recommend it for 2 reasons: 1) our dogs have nice, shiny coats and healthy muscles 2)it comes in the mail and is incredibly easy to order on-line. Good food and no human interaction required :)

[Mary]

Aww! What a sweet post :)
Lucy is adorable. I'm so glad everything worked out. Animals really do make life so much better. Love!

[Jeanie]

I LOVE that you love your dog so much! I have four of them to love. Lucy is a real cutie!! And I don't care what they say, Lucy is a good name.

[Miss Elizabeth]

Oh, Melissa. Hearts to you and Lucy.

[terilynn]

You made me tear up with that one. So sweet.

The retractable leashes somehow tend to get tangled easier and can potentially choke an animal, supposedly, plus the retracting rope can cut your fingers or hurt you or some crap. We don't use them, just in case. But mostly because our dog is crazy strong and I just know she could snap that thin little rope and eat a chihuahua before I could stop her.

Also, your dog prefers cat poop to any food you give her. I don't think you need to worry. My dog eats (gasp!) Pedigree from the store, and she's lovely, shiny, energetic, and very healthy. And only occasionally farts.

[Jen]

We just adopted a black lab who has the most common black lab name possible, Molly. I think we've already run into another black lab named Molly at the beach in the 3 wks we've had her. Oh well, she's a great dog anyway. Congrats!

[Amy Jo]

Funny. My daughter's name is Lucy and she's the only one I know. What a cutie!

[Melissa Summers]

They said the problem is the leash could snap and break.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[Val]

This just all makes me so happy for you all. I love my came-with-my-boyfriend cat, but I can't wait to have a dog again. Enjoy! :)

[kris]

some one said..'Your vet can probably recommend a better food'.

well, who do you think gave your vet their one hour class on diets??? i can tell you... some one from purina, or hills science diet, that's who. vets know next to nothin about nutrition and any food that is sold exclusivley to vets is because the vets make $$$. dogs can live on purina dog chow just like kids can live on mcdonalds.. you can do it but how healthy are you going to be?? you will save money in the long run by feeding as natural a diet as you can (no fillers/corn/wheat/soy) and letting your dog chew on a raw (think big knuckle like bone of beef/lamb/pork) a couple times a month for a couple hours to keep their teeth clean...feeding raw is best also but that is too much to explain here....retrac leashes are dangerous because if your dog runs out in the street and you are slow to 'stop' the leash they can get killed and for other reasons.

[Melissa Summers]

You're pleasant.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[Beth]

ZOMG, that dog is redonkulously cute. I think you need to send that photo in to Cute Overload.

My sister is a vet, and she feeds her pets Science Diet. And she would never recommend a food because she was somehow getting a kickback from the company.

Also, our rescue group (we adopted our puppy last August) was also only about 63% as crazy as yours. We had to fill out some massive application with every pet we've ever had listed and how they died, how old they lived to be, yadda yadda.

But all is well now that you have that BEAUTIFUL puppy. What do you think she is? Our dog was 10 lbs when we got him and supposedly a terrier/pug mix. He's now pushing 50 lbs and we think he's a terrier/Irish wolfhound. :-)

[Laurie]

I appreciate rescue agencies, and I love what they do. But, I have to be honest, when I adopted my cat from the Humane Society, they were so horrible and mean, it makes me hesitant to go back.

[Denise]

Congrats! Well, a few years I though my daughter didn't need a dog until I saw her and then we HAD to have her. We had to jump through many hoops with our local humane society as we are a military family and the bottom of the food chain in their eyes. ALmost three years later Harley, the queen of our household, rules with an iron paw and a whipping tail. Puppy love is a wonderful and demanding thing! :)

[selenabird]

Best! Thank you for choosing to rescue and hanging in with the process.

[WaywardGoddess]

Gah...Lucy is such a common dog name. Can't believe you went with that.

~Mom to Daisy

(and Havoc)

When I adopted Daisy, I was volunteering at the rescue and just decided I wanted her, lol. They "checked" my references and sent her home with me. Last year when we were thinking of another dog, we went to the local humane society that had a whole list of qualifications. They were practically throwing a dog at me before I got the paperwork filled out. In the end none of the dogs they had were quite the fit we were looking for and I was convinced the right dog would fall into our lap. About a week later a friend of mine's boxer had puppies, 8 weeks later we had Havoc (who is living up to his name. Should have named him, Gandhi, or something)

[Molly]

True story: a couple years ago, we went to adopt a dog from a rescue where we lived at the time, in the D.C. suburbs.

The dog we liked was named Max. My son is also named Max. When we told the rescue that we wanted the dog but planned to change his name so as not to confuse the child and the cockapoo, the rescue told us that we "weren't the right family for Max."

My husband's respose: "Max the kid or Max the dog?"

We were completely furious. I couldn't believe that they were turning away adoptive families for having the audacity to change the pets' names.

About six months later, the woman who ran it had her house raided. She was hoarding animals, had something like 85 cats and 40 dogs in her (not very large) home.

Anyway, I think Lucy is a great name, and she's a gorgeous girl. Congrats on the new addition!

[Jodi]

I had a similar experience when adopting a cat from the local SPCA. The "adoption counselor" -- who was about 14 -- acutally gave me a TEST on all the things she had told me. Then she graded it in RED PEN while I -- an over 40 teacher with a master's degree -- sat there in front of her. And that was only a small part of the humiliation.

Not only did they call my vet to make sure my dogs were up-to-date on care (my spaniel had just had very expensive cancer surgery), but I had to BRING IN the heartworm and flea medicines so that they could count the number of doses remaining, compare that against the date I got them, and confirm that I was giving the dogs the meds on time.

When I took the cat to the vet for the first visit (Required! Within 10 days! Or else!), she said that her sister-in-law, who is also a vet, was denied a cat at the SPCA because in their opinion it was too soon after her cat had died. They didn't think this VET had enough time to go through an appropriate grieving process.

For reals. WTH?

I will catch a wild possum in my yard, litterbox train it and name it Fluffy before I'll go back to that place. And they keep sending me fund-raising mailers? Ummm...

[Laurie]

The lady at the Humane Society GRILLED me for 15 minutes because I wrote my name "Laurie" on their form, but my Driver's License has my legal name, which is Laura. Oh man, she was PISSED.

[Amy in KC]

We lost our 13-year-old German Shepherd in November - horribly sad, and our 9-year-old mutt Clyde was clearly lonely. We submitted an application to adopt a 6-month-old mutt from the Humane Society, and they turned us down because 1. Our other dog was too old (??) and 2. Our kids (4 year old twin boys) are too young (???).

We adopted a different 6-month-old mutt, Penny, two months ago, who is wonderful and fits right in but sadly? That other dog is still up for adoption. And don't lots of 4-year-olds have dogs?? Crazies.

Congrats on Lucy!

[Caroline]

We have a Lucy dog, too. Sorry.

[jillie]

OK, I have to say that I love dogs, but some of the dog rescues crack me up! My brother and SIL were flat out refused custody of a puppy mill rescued yorkie because they didn't have a large enough fenced yard...on their 1-acre yard, only about 1/4 of an acre is fenced around the pool. They have a combined income of well over $500K a year (that's a lotta cash in the South!), live in a McMansion and have 3 kids in private school, but couldn't be trusted with a 5-lb yorkie. They finally just ended up BUYING one from a reputable breeder after getting the condescending treatment from several rescues! Most spoiled, well-treated, king-of-the-McMansion dog EVER.

Lucy is way cute, by the way!

[Torrey]

Hoorrayy for you! Congratulations.

[Pam]

my sister and her husband named their dog Lucy, only so that they could say "Lucy, I'm home" when they... came home. Sadly, it turns out that my brother-in-law is an animal hater (!) and Lucy had to go live on a farm. No really, she went to live on a farm, where she got to run all day with other farm dogs. No, really, she's alive. Really.

[Veronica]

Rescue people are CRAZY. My mom is one of them so I can say this from first-hand experience. They make it very hard for the rescued dogs to find the homes they need! They offend people for no good reason and just sabotage their own efforts left and right. The worst ones are the people who start out as foster homes and then just can't find the "right" person to adopt the dog. Pretty soon the foster parent has 10 dogs and now can't foster any more. Loony.

[Noelle Buttry]

That is an awesome photo of the commonly named dog. LOVE it.

[Amy]

Isn't it funny how that happens? We got our first dog because my husband wanted one DESPERATELY, but I turned out to be the one pushing to go back for a second puppy only a year later! Those dogs are my babies - I can't imagine my life without them. Congrats on the new addition to your family!

[Jennifer]

Some rescues are awesome, reasonable, and truly have the best interest of the dog at heart. And some are self-righteous crazies hell-bent on making adoption as difficult and stressful as is possible, all in the name of saying they are waiting for the perfect family. I've unfortunately run into the latter category more often than the former.

I've had my cats for 18 healthy, happy years and my dog for 8 healthy, happy years; but I was once turned away by a rescue because they read my application and my cats (who were adopted, not bought) were declawed (they came that way). And was told that "cruel people like [me]" are not the kind of people who should own pets.

Yes, clearly dogs like Lucy are better off languishing in temporary homes or kennels, shuffling from one to another... better that than eating Science Diet and using a retractable leash.

[Dawn]

It's always the way, I swear. My sister-in-law did not want a dog, was talked into getting a dog by her husband and the kids, would call me endlessly with questions about the dog and how much damage it would do to their house and lives, and within 2 days was carrying the dog around everywhere she went. (Man, that was a long sentence...sorry about that.) Either way, you needed Lucy and Lucy needed you, and it is a beautiful thing. I couldn't be happier for you all!

[Callie]

I'm so jealous! I want to adopt a golden retriever so badly, but our landlord does give a flying fig about dogs, so that's a no go until we can buy a place. Phooey.

[Marla]

ODL! First, congratulations on having the perseverance to do what you had to do to adopt your Lucy. I hope you have many happy years together.

Second, it's reassuring to find out that we were not the only people who had to beg & plead, sing & dance, bow & scrape just because we wanted a dog & wanted to adopt from a shelter. I'm not happy anyone else has had to go through things like that, & I'm sorry for the people who were turned down. I am thrilled, though, that we were able to adopt our dog, who has been an absolute joy.

We changed his name, BTW, even though they told us they'd prefer that we didn't. When people see him, so many of them say, "It's Toto!" He had obviously heard that before & recognized it, answered to it right away.

I don't think he cares at all what we call him, as long as we feed him & walk him & play with him. I hope you're as happy with Lucy as we are with Totie.