Hi!  FM here to fill you in on Lucy's change of status.  We received the allergy testing results back - and the winner is GRASS.  Lucy is allergic to pretty much every grass on the planet.  However, that is one of the things we can have some control over.  We have decided not to pursue allergy shots for her now.  The adoptive family will have to be pretty aggressive with the allergies at the beginning of the growing season in the spring and we think that will really help.  This involves:

1. A vet appointment where the vet may prescribe a steriod in a weening dose to jump start her immune system for the season.  The vet may also prescribe an antihistimine to be used over the season.
2. She will need to have her feet and body wiped down with hypoallergenic baby wipes after she comes in from outside.  As you can see in the photos I have included - she loves to play outside with her ball.
3. She will need to be bathed once a week in medicated shampoo that the vet can provide for you.
4. She should not be outside when you are mowing or immediately afterwards where you have mowed.
5. An urban environment rather than rural would probably be better.

Currently Lucy is on the weening dose of steriods.  She is in her second week.  She returns to the vet this Friday for another assessment.  I can tell by looking at her she is doing MUCH MUCH better.  The scabs she had have pretty much gone away.  Her stomach is still a little rashy looking but she is not itching at all and I live right on a golf course where they pretty much mow the lawn every five minutes.

If the adoptive family is really diligent about following through on the above she will do great.  They are welcome to pursue an additional consult with a canine allergist if they would like (and we have a couple we can recommend for you) but we think most of it can be controlled by controlling her environment.

Lucy is a great dog!  She likes kids and she has wonderful recall.  We were outside playing this afternoon with my daughter's dog and Zoe (Duci 09-222) and they all were coming right back when called.  I don't think she will need a fence if you are out with her as she loves to be with her people.

Here are some adoptive family tips:

1. She doesn't require a fence (if you are out with her).
2. She loves having other dogs around to play with but she won't initiate play if she knows the dog doesn't want to play (like my Sophie).  She would be fine as an only dog too.
3. She is crate trained and is very good in her crate. She would prefer not to be in it but as she is an avowed counter surfer she should be in it when you are gone (ask the half of loaf of bread she ate when I went to the mailbox - I was gone maybe 2 minutes max).  She has only been in the crate for a maximum of 4 hours and I really hate to do it.
4. She likes kids but is exuberant so maybe kids over 8 would be best - she likes to lick but will stop when asked.
5. She is housetrained - never had an accident.
6. I use a long retractable leash when walking her and she only pulls when she's on a bunny and/or squirrel hunt. Additional obedience training would be helpful - she is VERY smart.  When it is time to go out I tell her to go wake up Sophie and she finds her and does just that.
7. She knows "sit", "come", "lie down".  She doesn't jump up on you.  And she has the finest internal alarm clock known to man.  She KNOWS when it is 6:00 AM and when she hears my son get up - she jumps on the bed and wakes me up.
8. She sleeps on the floor in my room - she sometimes even sleeps next to Sophie if Sophie is next to me.

Please contact your placement advisor if you are interested in meeting Lucy!  She would love to meet you.

Lucy with a PS.  We are very sad here because we learned that my foster sister Sophie has hemoblastoma - or a blood cancer.  Please think good thoughts and keep paws crossed for my FM and most of all my pal Sophie - ooops - I mean "Queen Sophie".

It has been a while since our last Lucy update, but we have been waiting to see how the allergy medicines are working.  Sadly, they aren’t working as we had hoped they would.  Lucy needs some additional allergy testing. She has had some in the past, but it was a long time ago and the vet would like to do some additional skin testing for her.  This kind of testing is not available where we live in Sioux Falls...it will need to be done in the cities; therefore Lucy will be moving to another foster home that is up there and closer to the vets that can perform this kind of testing.  This is good news for everyone...especially Lucy, and her next foster family (we know that you will just love her to pieces!) 

We are still not sure when she will be ready for adoption, but I would think it would be shortly after this testing takes place.  We aren’t sure when Lucy’s transport will take place, but we are hoping that it will be soon so that this itchy girl can get some much needed relief!  We will miss her, though!