As told to Bill McRory and Susanne Dyby.
A beautiful curly-haired visitor upset our unpacking routine at our RV winter haven in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. This dog with stunning golden eyes was definitely uninvited.
She was one of the wild canines usually kept outside the park by the passionate efforts of the maintenance man. I dug out some dog biscuits and coaxed the timid beauty closer. Within an hour, she allowed me to hand feed her a snack, then two or three.
Her numerous and elongated teats told a story of motherhood, either past or present. Soon, a neighbor came by to refresh our friendship from last year’s stay and gave us the scoop. This golden dog had been hanging around the park for almost a week and had been named Lucy. She and the rest of the wild dogs were about to be rounded up and shot, or abandoned far out in the Sonoran Desert.
I feel sad enough knowing that any dog has no home, but this was too much. I immediately decided I would adopt Lucy, and Lucy apparently had the same bright idea, because she stuck close to me. My husband Mark was wonderfully supportive, and our RV friends and neighbors were dog lovers, too, so there were no dissenting voices when I announced my plan.
We found a veterinarian to vaccinate Lucy and procured the required certificates, ensuring that we wouldn’t have to smuggle her into the United States. Lucy was all set to change citizenship. When the veterinarian told us that Lucy was pregnant, we swallowed hard but didn’t change our minds. By now, both Mark and I loved Lucy too much to turn back.
We spent a delightful three weeks in Puerto Peñasco as Lucy got fatter – from regular meals as well as the growing pups inside her belly. At the end of our vacation, we headed north and had barely reached Arizona when Lucy retired to the RV’s bedroom and gave birth to seven beautiful puppies.
My friend Valerie in California was full of congratulations and requested the pick of the litter. She braved her intense fear of flying (only a puppy can be so persuasive) to come to our home in Oregon and promptly fell in love with all seven puppies, each of them unique. Valerie wisely left the decision-making to the puppies and, sure enough, it was little girl Brownie, the one that most resembled Lucy, who worked the hardest to convey the message, “Take me!” with her whole body and soul. Brownie got renamed Roxy — Roxanne when she is bad, which is never, I am sure.
We found a pet adoption coordinator, Laura, who arranged for adoptive families and made sure that all the puppies got neutered, with the cost to be included in the adoption fees. Lucy suffered some separation anxiety, and so did we, because we had become attached to the pups. Of course, we realized that we couldn’t keep them all. Thankfully, Laura made sure that we stayed in touch with the pups’ new people, our potential new friends. Three families phoned us and sent pictures, and two others live close enough that we have dog family reunions.
Two puppies (Roxy and Sadie) are mirror images of Lucy, our Mexican best-dog-on-the-planet. Seeing them play together on a dog-friendly beach is better than the entertainment on any fancy cruise ship.
One year after moving north of the border, Lucy is such a grateful, loving dog, no longer jittery and wary of strangers. She adores ball games and beach walks, but mostly stays close to me and Mark. She was house-trained in no time and has been a delightful companion from the start.
Thank you to all who adopted Lucy’s wonderful puppies. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy Lucy. She has brought a whole new dimension to our lives.
No doubt about it, the best travel adventure is one that ends with the love of a dog.
To bring attention to the work of a courageous and compassionate couple in Mexico who have dedicated their lives to helping homeless dogs, the non-profit Center for Animal Protection & Education (CAPE) produced a 30-minute documentary called Viva Los Perros! It tells the story of Christi and Moncho Camblor, two young people whose shared concern for animals brought love into their lives on many levels. The organization they founded, Compassion Without Borders, has rescued thousands of Mexican street dogs and set up spay/neuter and vaccination camps in impoverished areas of Mexico. The film premiers at the Marin Humane Society (171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato) on Saturday, May 30 at 7 PM. It is also available for purchase for $20/DVD. Visit www.capeanimals.org for details.
Mary Lewis told her story of adopting Lucy to Bill McRory and Susanne Dyby, who sent it to us. Thanks for telling our readers this heart-warming tale!
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