In Memory of Lucy

 

Lucy

Lucy passed away peacefully, in the arms of her Mom, Shawna Barber, on Tuesday August 9th, 2022. Lucy was born on November 22nd, 2009. We are unsure of where she was born and what her life was like before she rescued us on February 12th, 2016, but she spent the rest of her life serving, protecting, and enriching the life of her new family.

Let me tell you a little about our Lucy and her Mom. Our path to Lucy began due to a decision by my three siblings and myself, to pursue a companion for my Mother, who was progressing with Alzheimer’s disease. My sister Ashley Warrick, a then resident of Fort Worth TX, soon found us a “candidate” at the local dog pound. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical, but Shawna, my Mother, and myself made the eight hour journey to interview this “candidate”.

Upon arrival, we were taken back to the holding pen for our Lucy, who was appropriately named Angel at that time. Along the way, we literally walked by more than seven hundred other barking dogs, many of which did not appear to be happy to see a human. This was our first encounter with our special girl. When we reached her current residence, a six by eight kennel run, we found her standing motionless and silent. The attendant asked if we wanted to see her in a more intimate setting and we answered “yes”. Lucy’s future Mom, Ashley, my Mother, and myself went to an outdoor viewing area and waited for them to bring our Lucy for inter- action.

When Lucy arrived, she gave us a momentary bewildering look, then promptly turned away to allow us to see that she knew how to void the previous nights dinner. Upon completion of this task, she simply stared in the opposite direction of the entire interview committee. Ashley and my Mother were nearest to her and Ashley knelt and tried to coax Lucy to come to her in her sweetest dog voice. Lucy was non-responsive and appeared to be completely disinterested in us all.

At this point is where the love story begins. Shawna and I were standing a bit further away and out of ear shot. I whispered to Shawna “We aren’t getting this dog. My Mother, with all her current problems, doesn’t need a dog with problems as well”. IN a glimpse of what was to become the future, Shawna advocated for Lucy and reminded me of the conditions that she was currently living in and that she was probably in shock. She barely finished speaking the words when Lucy turned and walked directly to HER. It was at this point that I learned of the authority that I had in my home. Next thing that you know, I was signing forms and paying the associated fees to bring Lucy to Arkansas. It didn’t take long for our Lucy to vindicate the faith of her Mom. Lucy quickly became a dog that legends are made of.

The next phase of this love story is a bit unique. The bond between Shawna and Lucy was apparent and strong, beyond the initial meeting. This was the case even though Shawna acted as Mom while living under a different roof, a short distance away. As I had indicated above, the initial purpose of getting Lucy was to provide companionship for my ailing Mother. As is the nature of Alzheimer’s, my Mother was unable to provide appro- priate care for herself, much less for Lucy. The short distance, combined with Shawna working from home, allowed her to provide all of Lucy’s wants and needs, for the eighteen months that Lucy loved and protected both her Mom and my Mother. Shawna ensured that Lucy got in her daily walks, and arranged and supervised all of her many trips to the vet. She did all of this while also helping to see that my Mother was safe as well. I am forever grateful to my wife for her love and selflessness during this period of time.

Eventually, even the heroics of Lucy were unable to fend off the progression of Alzheimer disease. My Mother had to move to institutional care and Lucy had to be re-homed for at least the third time of her eight-year life. As I had initially mentioned, we know few details of the first six-and one-half years of Lucy’s story. We do know that she was micro chipped and that the animal shelter was unable to get in touch with the contact. We also know that she had been roaming the streets of Fort Worth for a bit, based on the condition of her coat and the length of her nails. I cannot imagine the feelings of abandonment that Lucy must have felt, each time that she found herself looking for a new home and for someone to love her in the same way as she loved others.

In February of 2018, Lucy’s itinerant, and challenging journey finally landed her in the arms of her Mom. A place where her love and devotion could be met with equal measure. I had a front row seat to watch the main feature of this love story unfold. The bond between Shawna and Lucy began upon our initial meeting. It developed even more as Shawna oversaw the safety and care of Lucy, as Lucy was caring for my Mother. The story reached it's climax when Lucy became a permanent member of our home. You could literally see our Lucy finally knew that she had arrived at her intended destination, a place of safety, security, love, and permanence. Among the many no- ble attributes that Lucy’s Mom provided to her, I believe that all paled when compared to that of making Lucy aware that she would never be left searching for a new home.

Although Lucy had enough love for all, it was very apparent that the primary focus was her Mom. I learned this when attempting to give or receive any form of affection. Any movement toward Shawna was
initially met with a small feminine growl, advancing to a protesting bark when reaching my destination. I would do my hugging business quickly and then move to apologize to Lucy, where she was more than happy to receive a belly rub as penance. These were the best of times for our family.

In February of 2020, the first signs of Father Time and Cancer appeared in our precious girl, and so began our medical journey. We had adopted Lucy with a known abnormal spleen. This spleen began to cause her issues that eventually required its removal. Upon removal, we then learned that she also had kidney disease. Following a week of our Lucy losing the desire to eat on her own, her Mom and I, with the assistance of Dr Norette Underwood of Trumann Animal Clinic (the best vet on the planet), made the decision to take her to the Mississippi State Vet School. Lucy had a five day stay in the hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries and procedures to help reverse her kidney challenges. Luckily, we were successful in accomplishing this task. Unfortunately, we also learned that our girl was battling cancer as well. Mom never left our Lucy. She took up residence in Starkville and visited her girl at every possible opportunity.

Lucy, her Mom, and I returned home in mid-March of 2020, with a cloud of questions, suggestions, and recom- mendations of how to manage Lucy’s health challenges. Lucy’s Mom poured her energy into educating herself of conventional medical practices, as well as daily research into alternative methods of medicine. If there were success stories in the treatment of kidney disease or cancer, our family had the necessary ingredients to pursue those treatments in a matter of hours. Shawna joined multiple online canine groups discussing the virtues of care for both kidney disease and cancer. She spent countless evening hours scouring these sources of information and then researching the effects of each. Shawna thoroughly researched how every proposed innovation would interact with Lucy's existing conditions and treatments. Lucy’s Mom also began to cook and prepare every one of Lucy’s meals, for the rest of her life. Our girl had a measured balance of carbohydrates and proteins with each serving. When one of her illnesses seemed to gain momentum on the other, Lucy’s Mom had already done the research to know how to tweak her meals to battle any advances. Lucy could not have had a better advocate, if her Mom would have been a Veterinarian. With Shawna’s endless devotion to our Lucy’s care, we enjoyed our gift much longer than had been suggested by medical professionals. Up until the bitter end, Mom and Lucy together battled the challenges of her multiple diseases. I am eternally thankful for the countless hours of Lucy love that I personally enjoyed due to the efforts of her Mom. Our family lived the best possible life for the four short years that Lucy illuminated our home.

A lover of couches, blankets, memory foam, and silk pillows, Lucy had many hobbies. Among those includ- ed waking up to her early morning “pet pets” and Mom “walky walks” (a.k.a urinating on ever bed of monkey grass in the neighborhood), partying with her niec-
es and truck rides with Dad. Lucy’s outdoor passion was Squirrel chasing. Our neighborhood is filled with trees and the trees are filled with squirrels. Lucy’s Mom learned very quickly that her strength and a dog leash were not match for Lucy’s desire to catch one of these creatures. She learned this the hard way...being pulled to the ground and dragged a few yards. Mom learned to scour the horizon, on their daily walks, in order to see if there were any of these bushy tailed creatures that may be viewed as potential targets. If so, Mom would unlatch the leash and let Lucy pursue this objective unencumbered by restraints. Despite her best efforts, our girl was never successful in claiming her squirrel prize. I almost wish that she had, however, as I would have like to seen what her reaction would have been. My suspicion is that it would have been the same as that given to our nieces baby kitten Figgy....adoption as her own.

When finished with their morning outdoor activities, Shawna saw to it that Lucy then received her daily medi- cation (in a spoonful of peanut butter, Jiff Extra Crunchy ONLY ), enjoyed her second thorough round of belly scratches and then was gently tucked in on our ( who am I kidding...her couch) couch adorned with LUCY’S silk pillows, plush blankets, and her teddy bear. Upon completion of her multiple naps, her favorite activity was to distract her Mom from her job and receive yet another round of belly scratches. A lengthy and high quality belly rub, most especially between the front legs and inner thigh, was the quickest way to our Lucy’s heart. I can still hear Shawna gently scratching our girls belly and softly whispering to her over and over “MY Puppers....I love my Puppers”.

Lucy will be missed by many, but none more than her Mom, the object of her affection. Through thick and thin, these two loved one another with all of their respective hearts. Although the pain that we feel is indescribable, it in no way could ever compare to the joy that Lucy brought to our family. Besides her Mom and Dad, our Lucy leaves behind a multitude of extended family with whom she shared her love. She will most especially be missed by her nieces, Evie and Sadie Futrell, who shared many sleep overs, belly scratches, birthday parties, New Year Eve’s, and bacon. A special thanks to her Aunt and Uncle, Linda and Rick Carter, who provided her a loving second home (with squirrels to chase) whenever work took her away from Mom and Dad. Also, a special thank you to my sister, Ashley Warrick, who searched, located, and made all of the arrangements for the best gift that Shawna and I could ever receive.

At the wish of Lucy’s family, please give your dog an extra hug, belly rub, and treat. Their time in our homes is short, but their presence in our hearts and minds are eternal. Her Mom and I look forward to the day that we can love on our “Angel” once again.

Blake Barber

Lucy (My Puppers)

November 22, 2009 - August 9, 2022