Many of us are no stranger to adversity- but sometimes, our pets have seen their fair share of struggle as well. Come along with us as we share the hero’s journey of Lucy, a chiweenie (half chihuahua, half Dachshund) who belongs to CG MS English Teacher, Camilla Waldeck-Young.
Lucy and Camilla
Camilla’s 6th grade English class has been busy this year with lots of fun work, including Madlibs, IXL, integrating quotes into their paragraphs, and of course sharing in moments of shock while reading The Outsider, Claudette Colvin and The Giver.
Lucy joined Camilla’s family in September 2013 from Animal Rescue of the Rockies. At just over two years old, she was the ring bearer at her wedding ceremony in March 2014!
“Wrap up these pictures let’s get to the cocktail hour!”
Soon after walking down the aisle in style, she had to have leg surgery due to Stage 4 luxating patella, followed by physical therapy. While she’s recovered, she keeps her leg and core muscles strong with a weekly workout routine.
“Last set, best set!”
But leg surgery was sadly not the end of the story for Lucy’s rocky health journey. In the summer of 2017, Lucy went blind, and was diagnosed with SARDS- Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome, where all of the rods and cones in her eyes died for no known reason.
The transition was not easy, but after about six months, Lucy found her new normal thanks to some creative supports.
Lucy’s full name may be Lucifer, but this fallen angel wears a halo!
While the halo is meant to serve as a cane- it bumps into things before her head does- Lucy doesn’t love it, and only uses it in new spaces. Most of the time, she uses all of her other senses, including feeling things with her ear first and following snaps to find her way around. Her parents also devised “sniffers” for when they’re not around or when she’s too excited to listen (been there!). They take furniture pads, put different essential oils on them, and stick them in key places so Lucy can sniff her way around.
I smell an innovative solution!
Lucy loves to cuddle on the couch and sleep in human beds, but also has special dog stairs to get up and down, instead of jumping off on her own as she used to.
Every summer, Camilla and her husband work as admin at a summer camp in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, and Lucy is reunited with her good friend Zuke, the other camp dog.
When she’s not summering in the San Juans or snoozing at home, you can catch her cruising in the car!
Have a pet everyone needs to know about? Send pics to mac@scienceandtech.org