Lucy came to me through Facebook. I found the organisation in Thailand called Soi Dog which saves street dogs (soi = street in Thai) and finds them homes around the world. Dogs travel to Europe or Northern America with volunteers who can take a bigger number of dogs in hold with them on certain airlines. I chose a little white and brown doggie from the photo but after a few days received a message that the dog I chose is already booked. I replied then that I don’t mind which dog I will get as long as it is black or dark and fairly small. Dark dogs have a harder time to be adopted. I then heard the story of Fleck who was rescued from a lorry which was taking 1500 Thai street dogs to Vietnam to be boiled alive and eaten by people. It is illegal to eat dogs in Thailand but there are many homeless dogs there, so easy picking for people who take them over the boarder for cash. When I heard her story I was then definitely set on Fleck whom I renamed Lucy, especially that I was told she was being bullied by other dogs and had to live in a smaller cage. I lived in UK then, so she had to go through 3 month quarantine and I expected her after Christmas. After a while I was contacted again and told that Lucy has a parasitic blood disease and needs to be treated first. In the end she arrived in April after my 6 months wait. I drove to collect her from a ferry which brought her from Amsterdam. She was scared and vomited in the car despite of Linus sitting next to her for a company. I thought it was one off episode, but she vomited for three years each time she travelled in my car. I adapted to it and always kept towels, wipes and black bags in the car. Her fear of car travel was probably caused by her being caught and then squashed in a chicken cage with other dogs who were dying around her during their horrific trip to meet their even more horrific death. When we arrived home, she seemed happy and learnt very quickly from Linus how to behave. She was the street dog so there was no problem with house training. She just wanted to do it outside.
I took her to my vet after the arrival and he assessed her to be at least 6 years old. He told me that she had many litters of puppies and had a scar tissue after demagogic mange and her front legs are bad, they just pop out of kneecaps. It is called luxating patella. He advised not to worry about it because they pop in back on their own. The first year with her was often upsetting. She showed me what she was terrified of, and it was a lot. Handbags, brooms, vacuum cleaners, visitors, especially men, sudden noises, big lightly coloured dogs, dogs barking at her. When she was scared, she would hide. I would then make everything go quiet and after a while she would stick her head around the corner, checking if it’s safe to get out. All her fears went away with time except of her being picked up. Until now she is terrified of it. I guess it was a horrific experience to be caught and lifted and then shoved on the track. After she was with us 1,5 years we moved to USA. I chose to travel on Queen Mary, so dogs would be safer than in cargo hold on a plane, and we could spend the 7-day long trip together. I can recommend this way of travel; it is luxurious and fun and not much more expensive than upper economy flight. Owners can spend long hours during the day with dogs and take them for walks on the reserved deck. I am sure that dogs were not thrilled about being on the ship instead of at home, but I felt that it was the best I could do while moving continents.
We drove from New York to California and surprisingly Lucy didn’t vomit once during the 6 days it took us to cross the continent. I think she was happy to be on land again and close to me. She settled in California very well, after all she is the warm weather girl and loves to lie in the sun, be brushed and massaged. Just as she deserves. She was always more independent than my two other dogs, Linus and Charlie. Charlie was told in no uncertain terms to keep away from her. She didn’t react to his seizures like Linus who was a little nurse to Charlie. She just kept away. Maybe was scared. Linus she likes, after all it was him who was her welcoming committee when she arrived in Europe. I think the reason for her independence is that female dogs have to take care of puppies, feed them, provide for them and probably in her case, hide them so no one takes them away. She had puppies in the past because she loves to meet them on our walks. She also gets excited when she sees small dogs like Papillons. I am sure that she is part Papillon, she very much looks like one and is only bigger and has a shorter coat. After 3 years in California, we moved back to Europe and are settled in Germany now. Dogs had to fly back in cargo hold and it was nerve wrecking experience. I was lucky with my booking on Queen Mary the first time. Not so the second time. Spaces for dogs are booked long in advance – up to 24 months – and one can luck out if those long-booked spaces are cancelled. We all arrived safely in Frankfurt on Lufthansa, which apparently has the best record for transporting pets, and I made a mental note not to travel with animals long distance on planes unless they are allowed in cabin with me.
Lucy in the sun in Lebehn
We live in the small village now and dogs have lots of freedom to roam fields and dip their toes in the lake. Our Charlie crossed the rainbow bridge last year in August and Lucy is preparing to follow. She stopped eating about 10 days ago so I took her to a vet. She was terrified to be there and hid her head under my arm and I was her only comfort by being there constantly with her. The vet did ultrasound scan and detailed blood tests. The scan showed that she has inflamed, fatty gall bladder walls and a gall bladder stone. She was also diagnosed with the heart murmur and the obvious for years, leg problems. We were given 5 tablets for the morning, 2 for the night. She didn’t want to eat so I force fed her with a parrot feeder for 4 days, pushing mushed chicken breast into her throat so her stomach wasn’t empty while she was taking tablets. She loves being brushed and massaged, but that is how far she will go with allowing humans access to her body. She didn’t improve and after 4 days got worse. She started to lose balance when trying to walk, and she was terrified of me, following with wide open eyes as I moved around my study where she lives, waiting for me to force feed her and pushing tablets into her. I called the vet after then and told him that she didn’t improve at all, and he told me that I must bring her back. I then decided that I will let her die at home. No force feeding, no tablets, no vet visits, unless she will be in pain or discomfort. She is almost 13 and for a street dog who lived her first years supporting herself it is a good age. I want her to be relaxed and at peace before she’ll say goodbye to us. So that is where we are now. She drinks water with a bit of apple cider vinegar (it helps with gall bladder stones) and doesn’t eat, but I hope that by some miracle she will get better. She is at peace and sleeps mostly. I moved to sleep next to her in case she needs something suddenly and if these are her last days, I want them to be stress and pain free. It looks to me like they are.
Edit: My little girl Lucy died on 23 October 2021, at home, just as she wished.
Lakehaus Lebehn 