After Peppy’s death, Lucky was alone… which, while sad for us, passed practically unnoticed by Lucky. She was, after all, a princess who now reveled in the fact that she had our undivided attention. We began to take Lucky everywhere we went.

For short trips, she’d sit on Sheila’s lap – her favorite thing to do; on longer trips, I had a small cage that I would fasten into the seatbelt system in my car. We’d put a soft blanket on the bottom and Lucky would happily lie down or walk around inside the cage. She was a very good traveler. She came with us on trips to Canada, on trips to Virginia, on trips to Florida, and on our longest trip… to Lubbock, Texas to see Todd graduate from Texas Tech School of Law. It wasn’t always easy to find a hotel that allowed pets, but with some careful work beforehand, we always managed… even if we had to pay a slight premium.

Sydney: In the summer of 2000, Sheila and I met a very kind young woman named Bridget Hamlin. Bridget was an animal lover and had rescued many dogs and a few cats over the years. Eventually, she turned her passion into a business that she ran out of her home – Southern Ohio Animal Rescue (SOAR). While money was always tight, Bridget somehow always managed to make ends meet. Her grandfather, Joe, helped her with the grooming side of the business.

We both wanted to help SOAR in our own way, so I set up a web site for her business, and Sheila and I would volunteer at Adopt-a-Thons, and other fundraisers. We’d often just donate money to help her pay the bills. One of my “jobs" was to take photos of the dogs and post them on the web site, and a year later, Bridget showed me a lovely pair of unwanted pups – a male and a female – that had been brought in to the shelter. Bridget said they were an Australian Cattle Dog mix and asked me to suggest names – I said, “Well, since they’re Australian, how about Sydney and Sheila?" Sydney had beautiful blue eyes and I fell in love in an instant. That night, I told Sheila about Sydney and asked her to meet me at SOAR after work the next day; she did, and Sydney came home with us.

At the time, he was about 12 weeks old and much smaller than Lucky, but that didn’t last long. He grew quickly and by about 4 months, he was the same size as her… and by five months, he towered over her! Sydney adored Lucky. He would run over to her whenever he saw her, and he’d lick her face! Lucky, being a princess, couldn’t have cared less!

Sydney, hands down, is the smartest dog companion I’ve ever had. You could see him working out a puzzle in his head before he made a move – a bit like the Raptors in the movie Jurassic Park. While I never had the need for Lucky, I built a dog run for Sydney next to our house – about 20’ x 40’ but I never thought the thing through properly… I failed to take into account that Sydney was a good runner. After running for 15 or 20 feet and building up to full steam, he could jump really, really high… in fact, right over the top of the fence – without breaking a sweat! He didn’t do it often, but it got to the point where Sheila and I had to be outside whenever Sydney was in the run… just to be sure!

In the summer of 2002, the university for which I work was hosting the Governor’s Honors Academy – and I had the opportunity to spend two weeks working with the cream of high school students. I taught two courses: one dealing with Medical Informatics, and the other dealing with Internet Ethics. As part of the experience, the staff and students all stayed in campus housing – and that meant two weeks away from home. Overall, it was a great success and I really enjoyed it. But, unfortunately, there was a high price to pay… at least, as far as I was concerned!

For as far back as she could remember, Lucky had seen me and been with me every day of her life. But after one week of my being absent, Lucky developed an autoimmune response to the stress of my not being there. She became lethargic and wouldn’t eat or drink. Sheila took her to the vet who, after some blood tests, prescribed steroids for a week. But, even after the week was over and I had returned home and got back to my regular routine, Lucky continued to decline. The vet increased the steroid dose and, for a while, Lucky perked right up. But it was short lived. After a few more weeks, Lucky started to pant very heavily and would only eat soft, mushy food.

One night in September, I woke up in the middle of the night to see if Lucky wanted to go out to pee, but she just lay on the bed. I picked her up, but she didn’t move at all. I carried her into the kitchen and turned on the light – she had died in her sleep. I returned to the bedroom and woke Sheila… and we both cried. Whether it was warranted or not, I blamed myself for her death. If I hadn’t been away for those two weeks, Lucky’s routine wouldn’t have been changed and she would still be alive.

Sheila and I got a shovel and went outside. In a scene more reminiscent of X-Files than anything else, I dug a hole for Lucky – in the middle of the night – in the garden in front of our house. Sheila wrapped Lucky in a pillow case, and we gently laid her to rest. We knew she had been ill for almost two months and, in a way, this was a peaceful end for her. We miss Lucky terribly and, even today, talk about her!

Many people reading this blog will have seen my posts on several BritishExpats forums, and will know that I use Lucky’s picture for my avatar. It’s my small way of honoring her dear memory.

Suddenly, Sydney was an only dog… something he’d never been. For as long as he could remember, he had always had another dog in the house, but it wouldn’t be long before he had another friend with which to play.