“Lucy Needs a Home”

It was a single colorful flyer pinned to a refrigerator door that gave Lucy the pit bull her big second chance. These days you can find her living comfortably at home under the same roof as one of our previous Pack Profiles, Dottie, and Daddy’s own three-year-old puppy, Pepito.

But before that, she was living rough on the streets of Anaheim, California.

Found wandering alone (by the husband of the woman who would also eventually find and recover Lucy’s surrogate daughter, Dottie!) Lucy was a mess – skinny, dirty, and weak from having recently given birth to a litter of pups. She was brought home and cleaned up, but even an organized search party could not turn up any sign of her lost puppies. Lucy was taken into foster care where she lived for 6 months with a family who tried in vain to find someone to take her in. But no one wanted a pit bull that had been found roaming.

The flyer that caught the attention of Lucy’s new caretaker was a very simple notice printed with a photo bearing the legend: “Lucy Needs a Home.” And ultimately as a result of this very simple notice, Lucy found one.

Now the surrogate mother of Dottie and Pepito – both younger and higher energy – Lucy is exemplary in her position as second in command. She teaches them when it’s time to wake up, when to exercise, and how to behave at mealtimes. And she’s always very calm and friendly with people.

“I’m a loner, Dottie; a rebel.”

Although she has always fit in well with the pack at the Dog Psychology Center, Lucy’s caretaker reports that she has a bit of a solitary streak, preferring to do her own thing once she has said her Hellos to the other dogs. So strong is her need to roam on her own, in fact, that her adventures have actually landed her in prison! Once, two years into her adoption, Lucy left the house through the open front door and went on walkabout, nosing into shops to greet the neighbors and being generally outgoing and friendly. But the law is the law, and that law says that dogs cannot be found wandering off leash in public areas in Southern California. Later that same day, Lucy’s frantic caretaker received a call from the Los Angeles police department requesting that she come claim her dog. To her great relief, she found Lucy sitting quietly and patiently in her cell, bailed her out, and paid the fine.

These days Lucy is a model of good behavior and restraint, a doting mother, and a beloved member of Cesar’s extended family. And still as friendly and nosy as ever!