| Hi Chuck and Barbara: We just want to thank you two for giving us the most wonderful dog in the world! Lucy is so much a part of us that its hard to imagine our family without her. She turned one, as you know, Feb 2, and we celebrated by her favorite park walk in the snowy woods, and by taking her shopping to Petsmart to pick out her favorite snacks. Both Hannah and Ian used their own money to buy Lucy a special toy gift. Hannah picked out a soft, squeaky ball and Ian picked out a hard, orange Frisbee. Lucy loves them both. She has a ga zillion toys but plays with them all. Her favorite activities are long hikes in the woods. We have the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in our backyard (well... Not quite but very close). We have always loved nature, but even more now, since Lucy gives us a reason to explore all the obscure, off the beaten path, trails that we can find. She has just started whimpering (about a month ago) when she gets close to her favorite spots. Although we can get to some of the most beautiful trails in about 4 minutes in the car, her favorite take us about 15 minutes to drive to. When she starts to recognize the route and is sure she is going, she will begin to whimper and bark out of sheer enthusiasm. The kids love her. All of Hannah's friends, teachers, acquaintances and even strangers know about her dog, Lucy. She is so proud of her. She loves to lay on Lucy like a big pillow and play catch with her in the house. Lucy is Not allowed on our furniture except for sneaking on our couch in the basement where the kids like to go to play games or watch TV. Dad says no, but mom seems to never see her on the couch down there. ?. Lucy curls up and knows its a privilege and is as good as can be. While Hannah can get clingy to Lucy she also tells Lucy who's boss. Lucy will listen amazingly well to her. Ian still says he doesn't like dogs....yet he is like little Timmy with Lassie. Since Hannah is in school all day and Ian only goes to afternoon KDG, he is usually with me on our hikes in the morning. He and Lucy are outdoor playmates. From early on we have taken her on hikes off leash. She stays right by our side....sometimes too much so....as when she gets frisky and nips at our heals pretending she's a wild wolf dog. As you can imagine, she is awesome with all dogs and people. We have started mixing in a dog park with our nature hikes. this dog park we found is just a huge fenced in area for the dogs to play in. She loves running with the other animals...but when pesky, hyper dogs are around they seem to love to jump and mouth her. She takes it for longer than she should, but eventually when she's had enough she'll start bearing her teeth and snap at them to back off. Never vicious, just standing her ground. We've run into several dogs that were so hyper that its made us appreciate what an awesome dog she is even more. Although some dogs NEED the dog parks, Lucy likes them but is equally happy elsewhere, too. Remember how you told us to get Lucy used to the car early on? Well, oh yeah, she is used to it. Its hard to go into the garage without her running past us, pushing the storm door open with her snout, and scrambling into the car before we even know she's with us. Our van has doors that open with a button on the key chain, so as I open them for the kids to pile in, often we have our third kid in the car, seated quietly before any of us. She sees the car as adventure. Even if we are Not going out for a walk, she wants to be in the car driving around just for the sensory stimulation. She goes with me at least 50% of the time. Even if its a few hours of errands, she actually enjoys going from place to place and waiting in the car. And like a baby, often times she'll get lulled to sleep by the motion of the car. Along with all the great things about her, she does come with those challenging moments, however. She has more recently started stating her case LOUDLY. She is so vocal, the bear sounds and guttural noises that come from her throat are hilarious, but when she wants to tell you something, ohhhhh is her barking loud. A quick "Lucy, SHHHH!" works some of the time. Wish there was a volume control knob!! Also, as a 1 year old, I find her starting to push her boundaries to see how far she can go. Lucy, come...will get you a look, then a thought process of...hmmm do I really want to or is this squirrel that I'm chasing up the tree more fun at this given time....lately its a 3-4 times call before she runs up. We need to work on this with her. Wow, does she love the snow. I have never seen an animal get so excited for snow. Whether its cold and crusty and she breaks through the top as she's walking, or powdery and light as she snow plows through it all, give this dog snow and she will play, run, lay, dig, whatever she can do in it. Anyway, as we reflect on this past year with Lucy, we just want to let you know how happy she has made us. Last night Brian came home from work and was petting the dog and even said, "Lucy, I can't believe how much I love you." She's brought so much to our home! Thanks for being great breeders and bringing into the world these lovely animals. We really thank you! Have fun with your next group of puppies! Lisa , Brian Hannah and Ian Kraus |
