rhonda + lucy

Being a first time dog owner is in a lot of ways like going to college, you never really know what you are getting into until you live it. Never in my life had I assumed personal responsibility for another being until I got Toulouse “Lucy” Shoshanna.

As a child, the only “pet” I had was a pet rock, and her name was Rhonda. Why a pet rock you might ask? Well, my dad was and still is a master gardener and our yard simply was not cut out to have pets inhabiting it. Rhonda, my pet rock did not require much care, just a bath every few weeks and sometimes I would remake her shoebox bed when it started to look untidy. I picked Rhonda up off of the side of the road in the Hill Country with the thought that if I took really good care of her, my parents would get me a real pet. At the time, I wanted a Golden Retriever. This thought of getting a dog was in my head for several years, despite the fact that my parents were honest with me that we would not be getting any pets because of our backyard… and more importantly we would not be getting one, because at the time, I was extremely afraid of dogs… Makes since why I would want one right?

Fifteen years and a few months later, I still had no dog, but my fear of them had subsided, and luckily, I now lived in a house with a backyard with loads of running space. One day, a couple of my friends found an American Staffordshire Terrier wandering the streets while they were walking their dog. This sweet dog followed them home. After several weeks of doing the usual search for owners through creating signs and contacting shelters, it appeared that they would need to find a home for this dog. I had been over to visit these friends several times since they had the guest dog living with them and I fell in love. This sweet girl always had the cutest smile and tail wag, and most of all, she was playful, and a dog I believed to be the perfect companion.  After considering the time and resources it takes to have a dog, I agreed to adopt her.  I named her Toulouse “Lucy” Shoshanna after the ‘Aristocats’  cartoon character and after Shoshanna from the TV show ‘Girls.’

Once I got her home, I began to observe her more and more to see what kind of training she already had. I already knew that she knew not to go into the bathroom in the house, but aside from that, there were a lot of things that needed to be done. Lucy would not sit on command, often went to the bathroom on the driveway outside, and would be trying to walk me when I would take her out on walks.

The funny thing is, often times I imagine things in my head to be a lot easier than they actually are. Just like I thought college would be a piece of cake, so too did I think training a dog would be. I started out with trying to teach her how to sit, and she quite literally would not sit, even with the gentle reminder of pushing down lightly on her back. It took about a week with the help of veteran dog owner Jaimie to get her to respond somewhat consistently to the command.

The second task was teaching Lucy to be walked and not to walk me, well…. That is still a work in progress. The other main task was to get her to stop going to the bathroom on the driveway, for now, that has stopped, but she still gets a twinkle in her eye and occasionally looks back at me while walking on the driveway before continuing on her way.

The best parts about having Lucy are that she is so loving, kind and cozy these are all characteristics of my favorite people as well.  Lucy is spoiled to the brim and she knows it, but she has been welcomed into our home as a member of our framily (friends family) and Jaimie and I would not have it any other way.