I wrote in September of my newly adopted Wheaton terrier, Lucy Belle Boswell. I can’t believe it has only taken 9 long months for Lucy and me to have become one in soul and spirit.
I have grown to love this wonderful animal with all my heart and I can say is without a doubt, the feeling is mutual. Lucy loves me dearly.
A short review of Lucy’s history. I adopted her through S’Wheat Rescues. You would have thought I was donating a kidney on top of adopting a special needs, very old child from a 3rd world country. I filled out form after form, I went through numerous phone interviews, a home visit and had to give personal references to ensure I wasn’t some kind of dog molester.
I finally passed the test and was allowed to drive to Dallas, pay for this 9 year old animal, only to find myself with a mangy, high anxiety dog that was not potty trained, and had a list of maladies. It was love at first sight and Lucy and I are now joined at the hip.
No longer is her coat mangy but now full and shiny. Anxiety issues and even our potty issues have become non existent. This is on great, adorable hunk of fur. Tthe greatest dog ever!
Except...
I will take full responsibility for the girl’s current unfortunate behavior. All winter long Lucy loved riding in the car with me. No matter where I went, or how long I would leave her in the car, Lucy was happy just to be “with” me. Now winter’s in San Antonio are mild, but even on cold days Lucy was comfy lounging on my once very lovely leather car seats. Windows cracked, she dozed away while I was grocery shopping, running a day’s worth of errands or even going out to dinner.
On the days I simply couldn’t take Lucy, she had the run of the new house, using the doggy door to come and go at her leisure. We were great, all was well, we had found our rhythm, with everyone.
The weather is now getting hot, too hot for Lucy to sit in a car. About 2 weeks ago, I left to run a few quick errands and came home to find her standing in the front yard. She was mad I had left her, I know as I can read her like a book. How did she get out of the yard? I checked my two wrought iron gates, I had special grills made to keep her from squirming through. I made the grills about 4 feet tall and there seems absolutely no way even a Chihuahua could slip through, not to mention a 35 pound furry knee-high dog.
I checked all along the perimeter of the fence, maybe she had dug a hole and gone under...no. I decided it was a fluke and blew it off. The next Saturday morning I ran to Lowe’s for some plants. I drove up to find Lucy leashed to a tree in the front yard. My neighbor quickly came to tell me she had escaped and he couldn’t entice her back into the backyard so, fearing for her safety, had secured her to a tree. Now both of us began investigating the yard but again, there was no escape route.
I was mystified, was this dog “faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” No, that would be Superman. No, this precious old furry female was more like the Amazing Hairy Houdini.
The next day I was to leave for the Boswell Family Reunion. I arranged for my housekeeper Gloria to come check on Lucy, walk and feed her. I had just turned onto I-35 when I got a call from a neighbor saying Lucy had come to visit her while she worked in her front yard. Kindly, she took Lucy home, put her in the backyard and about two minutes later Lucy was back by her side. Loucini had escaped and now she had her routine down pat.
I was in a pickle, I needed to be at this reunion, it was the family’s first without Steve. I couldn’t turn around and come home. I called Brooke and Jared. They shut Lucy in my guest bathroom and she waited for Gloria to come free her. Wonderful Gloria loves Lucy as much as I do, so she stayed the night and waited for me to get home.
This is the first time since my Israel trip that I have had back-to-back trips planned. Now I was not only looking at having to board Lucy, but somehow I had to secure my gates for even the brief times I was gone.
Having little to no time between trips and unable to board Lucy on such short notice I took a family member’s suggestion, (thanks Justin, it worked) and here are my new gates.
I’m sure the neighbors are thrilled. While temporary, it does seem to have stopped Loucini from escaping, however I can’t very well leave this unsightly barrier for my neighbors to deal with, least they think Jeff Foxworthy and crew had moved in.
 |
| Side Gate…Loucini escape proof |
Tonight I took down the tarps, bricks and boards. I sat for a good 20 minutes hiding behind a bush on the side yard spying on my crying, pitiful hound yelping, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...”
I swear she eyed me crouched there behind that bush, and she out waited me. I sat there thinking, what is she looking for? Why is it her goal to escape? Doesn’t she have everything she could ever want or need right at her paw-tips? Doesn’t she realize how much I love her, that I will always come back to her?
Then it dawned on me, as I crouched, with gravel embedding itself into my knees and palms of my hands...I’m very much like Lucy. In my own way, I too am trying to scratch, paw and dig my way out of loneliness, out of this empty void I’m feeling, out of grief. Lately I’m finding, while I have created a home full of all the comforts I could ever want, the one thing I want most is beyond my grasp.
Unlike Lucy, I know that escaping my backyard won’t bring Steve back. In the same way I sit and watch my sweet old dog trying to escape, knowing she is in the best place she could ever find herself. I wonder if God sits, gravel kneed waiting for me to finally get it? He knows that I am exactly where I am meant to be. Why can't I figure this out?
I wonder if God is shaking his head, trying to tell me he’s provided for all my needs, “Be patient Janet, I won’t ever leave you. Learn to be content and enjoy this place where I have enabled you to have all you need to be satisfied and at peace.”
Oh I was right at the beginning of this saga, Lucy and I are one soul, one spirit, when will we ever learn?
For what it’s worth,
Janet
Hebrews 13:5 “...be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment