In Memory of Lady Lucy

(to add some perspective, this was our kids' first major pet and a long-long-awaited addition to our household and family!!)
Today was Lucy's 4 month birthday. It was not a day of celebration, but rather, a day of mourning; the end of a very difficult week of great sadness.

The day after Thanksgiving, Lucy started throwing up. We were at Grandma's house, so we packed up and headed back to our vet as soon as we could. The vet gave her some medicine and we came home. She was doing better until late Sunday evening. She went back to the vet Monday morning and stayed to be hydrated with some fluids via an IV. The vet called later that morning with the news. Blood tests indicated serious kidney problems. X-rays showed abnormally small kidneys. Over the next few days, her diagnosis of Juvenile Renal Dysplasia would become more pronounced and we would have to make the agonizingly difficult decision to let her go.

Oh, the tears that have been shed in this house this week! Us four girls have shed our share, but we have been far outcried by the 2 boys in the house. Dad and K have been almost inconsolable at times. K went outside in the backyard to play and was back in the door very shortly sobbing. It has hit Mom the hardest this week when she's been at home alone - no familiar "chink-chink" sounds as Lucy had previously moved around the house jingling her collar tags. Dad left the house each morning this week with Lucy wrapped in a blanket to keep her little body warm as she made the daily trip to the animal hospital to begin her IV fluids to try to flush her little body of all the toxins that had built up over the past weeks and months as her little kidneys had stopped working. We weren't sure each morning if she would return or what her condition would be if she did return each evening. On Thursday when she came home, we knew we couldn't drag this on any longer, but HOW could we make such an agonizingly final decision!?Through all the prayers this week for a miracle for little Lucy, God gave us a clear answer when Dad found this site as he searched for information on Lucy's disease. Suki's Story.

It was heartbreaking to read her story, but at the same time it gave us a sad peace as we saw amazing similarities between Suki and Lucy.

Lucy's mom was the "runt" of her litter and had trouble putting her weight back on after the puppies (all 10 of them!!) were born. Suki's mom was very similar.

Lucy was always smaller than her other siblings. Since we got to see two of her sisters quite frequently, we knew how they were growing compared to Lucy. Here's a picture taken 2 weeks ago when the girls had a sleepover at our house. Looks amazingly like the picture of Suki and her brothers! (l-r: Zoe, Lucy, Peighton)

Lucy's appetite got smaller and smaller and she was always very thirsty. She weighed in just before she got sick at 13 1/2 pounds - very very small for an almost 4 month-old boxer, even though she was the "runt". Suki's weight was similar at that age.

Lucy's favorite thing to do was to lay in the backyard in the sunshine. If she wasn't outside, she would sit in a certain spot in the living room and wait for the morning sun to come in the upper windows in the room and she'd bask in the sun inside. Suki's favorite place was by the backdoor at her house where the sun shone in.

Lucy had trouble staying warm. She got cold quite easily. We almost bought her a little sweater on a couple of trips to the pet store . . . Suki's family dressed her in a little shirt to keep her warm.

All these things on their own didn't alarm us although we were perplexed, but put together with our knowledge now, it all made sense. Didn't make our pain any better, but it made our decision bearable knowing that this was indeed a terminal illness for which there was no cure. She would not be getting better and we couldn't bear to see her get any worse.

Lucy was SO sweet. SO loving. SO smart. Even as bad as she felt this last week, she would walk slowly over to the back door and sit on the rug to let us know she needed to go out. Her last morning, right after the first freeze of the year, she enjoyed walking in the snow and standing in the sunshine for a few moments. It was too cold for her to stay out, but she sure did like seeing the sun.



Lucy knew where the most comfy spot in the house was - right in the middle of Mom and Dad's bed. Here she is with K a couple of weeks ago.




We are so glad we took our Christmas picture Thanksgiving morning at Grandma's house since it was Lucy's last "feel good" day. Such a bitter-sweet reminder of her. So glad we could take this happy picture with her! So sad that we won't take another . . .