Lucky's Story

The first night we had him, Lucky brought us every piece of plastic he could find, happily begging us to throw it. We held fast to the “no fetch in the house” rule, and within a day or two Lucky had calmed markedly. During the first few months, I took Lucky out every morning to run at the high school and play Frisbee. It helped keep him calm and happy for the rest of the day.

Lucky and our son Boris were best buddies. Boris learned so much about patience, focus, consistency, empathy, and strength from Lucky. After a couple of agility trials, Lucky became completely focused on Boris in the ring, and they became a wonderful agility team. Sometimes, when Boris gave him a command, he would look back at Boris and give a little bark as he took off. It was as if he were saying “right, boss!”

I realize now that Lucky was right about his belief that he could hypnotize people into doing his bidding. Otherwise, why would I have chosen herding and flyball as sports? I was desperate to do them, and I never had any interest in them before Lucky. And he loved those sports. He would lock onto you with a smile and stare and I swear he would be repeating his command over and over: “throw the ball,” or something like that.
He couldn’t shut up when he was herding. But his joy was unmistakable. When I was out there with Lucky, and I would make him take a break, and he was dripping with grins—those were perfect moments when the joy that Lucky found so often in life washed over onto me.

In less than three years, Lucky gave us a lifetime of memories: bringing Nickelodean to our school to film him and Boris, gaining titles in herding and flyball, and almost gaining titles in agility. Doing all his yodels. Snuggling in our beds. Protecting us from evildoers in the dark. If only we had had more time with our “once in a lifetime dog.” Our beloved Lucky died from eating 5 ounces of raisins just before his 9th birthday. PLEASE keep raisins and grapes away from your wonderful entles!

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