Lucy - 6/1989 - 11/2001

I chose this picture for the top as this was where she slept every night since we moved to MD and got this chaise lounge for our bedroom.

On 11/2/2001 we had to do one of the hardest things we've even done.  We put Lucy to sleep.  Near the end of our summer trip, we noticed that Lucy was having trouble getting up the RV steps and also getting up from lying down.  Upon our return, we took her to the vet.  They were unsure of the cause of her condition, thinking that it was possibly related to Lyme's Disease.  However, after several months, her condition continued to go downhill.  While she was happy and didn't seem to be in pain, her ability to walk dimished to the point where she could not go up or down any stairs.  Her back "knee" joints were enlarged and filled with additional bone mass.  The radiologist said that it was undoubtedly a type of bone cancer and she probably had something elsewhere in her body.  Finally, I took her for the what I knew was just going to be a confirmation of the worst.  I full x-ray set.  Our worst fears were confirmed as a very large tumor was discovered near her lungs.  I prepared a burial site in the backyard and on Friday, November 2nd, the boys said their goodbyes and got their pictures with her before I took her to the vet.  By that Friday, it was apparent that the cancer was spreading into her front legs and we had to do it.

Here's some pictures of Lucy in her last day with us.  She was a great dog.

This one actually was taken a few weeks earlier.