One Year On

   Today, we celebrate the 1st anniversary of Lucky coming to live with us.  And what a year it's been!  In some ways, it's flown by; yet, we feel as if we've had Lucky here with us forever.  So it's a good day to reflect on the changes that have taken place for us in the last 12 months.
  Lucky's first day in town was hard for him, we know that now.  Because we didn't know him very well at the time, we felt like he settled in remarkably well, but now that we understand and know him inside out, we can look at the photos of his first day with us, and see a very scared boy.

   He likes us, but he's not at home.  Also, the strange sounds coming from outside are frightening him.  He was a country dog, and he's never heard sirens, busses, motorbikes, or just people walking past outside of his door.  He's not at ease.

Heather from Posh Pets was a saviour.  She met with us on day one, and twice a week thereafter.  Soon, we were making progress.

   As our knowledge of his character grew stronger, Lucky began to react to and interact with us as his main people.  But looking back, again, we can see that this took time.  Though he seemed to like us very much, the 'bond' took time, and certainly didn't come automatically. 

   The one aspect we waited the longest for was a strong recall.  It wasn't nice keeping Lucky on the lead, even when we were out of the city center, but it was necessary for the first few months.  Lucky had form as a bolter, and we couldn't run the risk of him coming to harm.  But, once we had purchased the 'beeping' training collar, everything fell into place, and he was soon running free!

The 'bond', which Heather had told us would take time, had arrived.

   Once the recall was in place, it was smooth sailing all the way.  Our walks and adventures became longer and much more fun.  And we moved further afield, to places we'd loved with our old boy Truman.

The top of The Crags

Longniddry

And, our all time favourite, Tyninghame.

*

   But most of our best moments with Lucky have been quiet times at home.  For such a young pup, and an energetic boy, he's always been happiest when the three of us are at home together.  Comfort is his main aim, and physical closeness remains the top priority.  We don't complain.

We do this,

a touch of this,

a healthy dose of this,

And plenty of this, too.

*

   This incredible dog has completely changed our life, and we couldn't be happier.  We're so grateful to his loving, original family for their selfless decision to let Lucky move to the city, and live with us. It was difficult for them.  They adored Lucky.  We honour that every day, and we do our very best by him.  We haven't had a bad day yet.

   For our anniversary, we bought Lucky a brand-new African beaded collar, which, I've been told, Ridgeback's wear in their native environment.  He looks so handsome in it.

Today.

Here's to many happy years together.  We know that he's happy. 

   

Secret Garden

   We have a splendid selection of walks to choose from, but we always seem to end up somewhere in East Lothian, where Scot grew up.  Lucky enjoys being by the coast, as do we.
   Lucky and I took a taxi to work on a rainy Monday recently, and the driver told me about an East Lothian walk that he and his dog like very much.  He didn't give us much information apart from directions, so we gave it a go last Sunday.
   We drove to Aberlady, and parked at a small farm shop.  The walk began on a small path behind the car park.

   It turned out to be an estate, Gosford, which we'd heard of, but never seen before.  It's an enormous, walled property, which stretches all the way from Longniddry to Aberlady.  The views were jaw dropping.

   At one point, we turned a corner, and after 100 metres or so, we came upon this.

Wow.

   This is our 100th post here on Lucky Days.  This time last year, we were already visiting Lucky and his original family, very much hoping that this boy would be coming to live with us.  In some ways, it feels like the time has passed in an instant, but in others, like we've known Lucky our whole lives. 

   This has been a good year; one of our best yet.

Today's Pinup

Despite his size and the fact that he's waterproof, Lucky hates the rain.  Ridgeback through and through.

Homesick, Part Two

   Yeah, I'm admitting it.  I've become the crazy guy who misses his dog so much, he moons over every pup he passes.

   And none more than my new friend Hudson, the wee Beagle companion of my old friend David.

This little girl is one of the sweetest I've ever met.  We fell in love!

But I want to go home to Scot and Lucky. One more week.

Homesick

   I'm in Florida visiting a close family member who's been taken ill.  It's a hard situation, made slightly easier by the view from my hotel bed.

   I'm missing Scot and our Lucky very, very much.  But a small compensation for being so far from home is the constant presence of lovely dogs.  Everywhere I go, it's dogs galore, especially on the beach just by the hotel.
   I'm pleased to see that this part of Florida hasn't given in to the American mania for keeping dogs on the lead at all times.  I go for a morning swim at sunrise every day, and there are lots of happy pups running freely.
   This morning, an absolutely adorable little dog of non-specific heritage came up to me with a tennis ball in his mouth, just as I was at the shore and about to take the plunge.  It was high tide, and he didn't seem to be with anyone.  He dropped the ball at my feet; I picked it up, and threw.  As he chased the ball, I dove into the water.
   The waves were high and the surf was choppy, but the water was warm and lovely.  After about a minute, I turned around, and here was this little dog, swimming next to me, with the ball in his mouth!
   I was actually afraid that he might go under, but I soon realised that, no, this wasn't his first time in rough seas.  We swam together for a minute, then he was called to the shore, and off he went.
 

The Second Time Around

   Some of you are living with your first dog.  Some of you have had two or more dogs.  My beloved first Ridgeback Truman was my first dog.  Lucky is my second.
   I adopted Truman at 7 weeks of age with my former partner, a great guy who is a dog man through and through.  He'd had dogs of his own from a young age.  He taught me everything he knew about dog training, and he gave me the best piece of advice regarding dogs that I've ever come across.
   He told me "we have them for a short time, and the only thing we can do is enjoy each moment with them, and  try to give them the best life we can; to enjoy every second we have with them, to appreciate them fully each day, so that when we lose them, we'll know we've done our absolute best by them."
   This was great advice, and I did just that with Truman.  I used to look at him in the park with love, and I understood that it would end.  Some people would say that those thoughts are maudlin, but I don't agree.  It helped me to live in the moment with a beautiful boy whom I loved very much.
   Subsequently, when we lost Truman, we took comfort in the knowledge that we had appreciated every moment, and had truly done our very best by him.
   This time, this second time around with our Lucky, we are more keenly aware of all of this.  It's hard to be so aware that we will be together for a relatively short time.  But remembering what we felt when we lost our Truman, we are truly living each moment with our Lucky to the fullest.
   It's not maudlin, it's good.
   And for your delectation, the lovely and sweet Truman:

   And his great-nephew, grandson of Milo, Lucky.  By name, and nature.  Love this boy.

Today's Pinup