It’s hard for me to believe that the little Boston Terrier pup with the “white star” behind her head that I held in my hand is now old, gray and running out of time. She’s been a great dog – everything we could have asked for and more.
She was great with the kids while they grew up – my son now nearly 21 and my daughter 15 were so young when we got Lucy. She came into our lives when our other Boston “Morgan” died unexpectedly of a cancer we didn’t know she had. There was no time to say good bye to “Morgie” – it took her quick and Lucy filled a painful void with more love than we could ask.
Lucy trained easy and when we found out she was allergic to everything (including us), she easily switch over to a new diet of potatoes and lamb/beef with carrots for treats. She traveled well, greeted everyone with love, and when we got Moe the Yorkshire Terrier gladly welcomed him.
Lucy’s Star stopped rising some time ago with the advent of her cataracts and the increasing strain on her body from taking the steroids that kept her incessant allergies at bay. The same steroids that are now slowly killing her liver and giving her diabetes from which she can’t recover. Now blind from the cataracts and rapidly loosing weight – 3 lbs in 3 months – she’s been bearing up gracefully, but the vet said we should probably prepare to put her down.
So we’ll talk about it as a family. I think we all knew it was coming but didn’t want it to happen. I’m thankful for the unconditional love she’s given all of us, the fun we’ve shared together and the memories that will always be intertwined with her.
There really are no words to express my sadness about this. I don’t want her to suffer but I don’t want to say goodbye to a large part of our family. I know I won’t ever forget her just like I’ve never forgotten Morgan or Pfeffer. I want to be there to comfort her as her “star” goes out, just as she comforted and loved us all when we needed it.
I’ll miss her but won’t forget her.
