Our Rescue Dog

Poor little Lacy was a stray who found her way to the North Central LA animal shelter. For 5 whole weeks she was stuck in a cage out in the sun with two other dogs, one of whom constantly tried to chew on her ears!

When we went to look around the shelter (with our hearts breaking with every step) we had decided that we would get a small dog. But when we walked past Lacy's cage she started bouncing on her hind legs and making eyes at us. We fell in love instantly.

It was so overwhelming that we left that day without a dog. There were just no small dogs we liked and Lacy was too big. But when we got home we couldn't stop thinking about her. So the next day we went back to the pound and met Lacy in the getting acquainted yard. And that sealed our fate. Lacy was ours.

We can only wonder what her life was like before the pound. There are definitely some alley dog traits in her but she's so sweet we can't help thinking that someone loved her at some point. I suppose we'll never know.

The animal shelter told us Lacy is a 'lab/retriever mix'. We've been trying to work out what's in that mix.

She has huge Labrador front paws, but her back paws are dainty with white flecks in them. Her coat is long and silky. Her ears are fantastically huge and flop forwards. Some people think they look like chow ears and others thinks they could be border collie ears. She is currently 36 pounds but will probably get to 45 when she's fully grown. Taking all of that into account, the best we can come up with is that she is a mix of Labrador, retriever, chow and collie.

If you have any ideas about what she might be please vote in the poll below or leave me a message.

When Lacy first came home she had just been spayed, so for two days she was incredibly calm. We thought we had got lucky adopting such a relaxed, well trained dog. But then, on the third day, she went crazy. She suddenly looked as though she was possessed and started racing up and down the house, slipping and sliding along the wooden floors.

We have now got used to her nightly display of craziness. We refer to it as the 'zoomies'. She usually gets a case of the zoomies after she's been out for a walk or just before bedtime. Sometimes she even gets it while we're on her walk (as seen in the photo!)

Hopefully with a course of obedience classes and a few more months under her belt the zoomies will become a thing of the past.

Even though we have only had Lacy for one week, we are already beginning to learn what she loves. Number one on her list has to be her monkey (shown here). It has already had one ear chewed off! Lacy doesn't go anywhere without him.

Lacy also loves:
1. Peanut butter.
2. Going for walks in the hills.
3. Watching the world go by out of the car window.
4. Watching America win Olympic medals.
5. Listening to Miles Davis!

Today was a big day for Lacy. She was introduced to horses for the first time. Initially she barked and growled a little, especially when they snorted and made strange noises. But after a few minutes she began to get pretty intrigued by the huge creatures.

Soon enough she was trying to get into their stalls and sniffing around their hooves. She even gave a few kisses. This photo was taken moments before her first kiss!

Lacy and I recently embarked on a basic dog training course. It was actually quite depressing. Every week Lacy was so rambunctious and crazy that we had to sit six rows behind every one else. So when graduation came around I was really worried.

Graduation consisted of a timed course where you had to stop at lots of different stations and get your dog to either sit, lie down, stay, come or walking nicely on leash. I had absolutely no confidence. I ended up asking my husband to leave work early so that he could come and help me deal with the humiliation.

BUT, surprise surprise, Lacy was an angel. She did everything perfectly and ended up coming second!

Our next challenge is the agility course which starts on November 15. I'll let you know how that goes.

If you liked this lens please check out some of my other lenses:

Eat Your Way to the Perfect Figure
South Island of New Zealand
The Isle of Jersey
Surviving Long Haul Flights

You can also visit my freelance writing and photography website and my weight loss and healthy eating blog.