Once upon a time there was a little mutt puppy named Lucy. She was beloved by her owner named Katie and all was right with the world.
Together, Katie and Lucy explored the world together.
It was a happy time, even if Katie did often insist on dressing Lucy in ridiculous outfits.
Lucy loved Katie so much that she even forgave her for The Hat Incident of 2003.
And then Katie married a boy named Chris and though Lucy needed some time to adjust, she eventually came to love Chris, too. He let her sleep in the bed with him.
And when they went boating…
…Chris dove in and saved Lucy when she forgot how short her legs were and she jumped out of the boat.
Yes, Lucy came to love her little family of three. But then, unexpectedly, they became a family of four.
Katie and Chris brought Molly home one snowy, winter day and Lucy was none too pleased. No one had asked her if she wanted a furry canine companion, after all.
Now, Lucy began to notice there was less room for her on the couches during nap time. This would not do.
And then Molly began to make friends with Lucy’s favorite Baby. No, this would not do at all.
But when Molly began to claim her place on the bed, Lucy had had enough.
And so Lucy began to assert her dominance over the silly black Labrador mutt puppy.
But eventually, Molly grew bigger.
And bigger.
And she got stronger.
Until, finally, Lucy realized that she could no longer beat Molly up and so Lucy reluctantly accepted that they had become a family.
Even though no one had asked her.
Years went by and Lucy began to tolerate Big Molly. And just when she thought she had accepted the unwilling expansion of the family, something odd began to happen to Katie.
And Lucy’s world, once again, changed.
Today, Lucy lives a much different life. Gone are the days of sleeping in Katie’s bed. Gone are the extra long belly rubs and table scraps eaten right off the plate. Gone are the quiet hours of solitude and leisurely strolls through the park. Now, Lucy’s days are filled with loud shrieks from The Wee One and the occasional playful harassment from Big Molly. Now, Lucy climbs to the highest point in the house to escape the waving golf clubs and the violently wagging tail of Big Molly. Now, Lucy crawls into a dog bed at the end of the day.
Like an animal.
Occasionally, late at night after everyone has gone to sleep, Katie will pull Lucy into her lap on the couch and the two of them will curl up watching Top Chef and The Real Housewives while Katie absentmindedly rubs Lucy’s belly and ears. And as they sit there together in the quiet of the house, it is almost easy for Lucy to pretend that life is like it was before.
…Until she wakes up to Big Molly’s big wet tongue on the side of her face and The Wee One throwing Cheerios at her.
Reality is such a rude awakening.
1) Diana @ A Little Bit of Life: Aww that was adorable! I'll have to do one once our Jellybean is born from my cat's perspective! (08.01.2010 10:06pm)
2) Jen at Cabin Fever: Oh my... That photo of Lucy showing her teeth is scary! (and hilarious). And that preggo photo of you is AMAZING. Just in case no one has told you that before (yeah, right) Cabin Fever in Vermont (08.01.2010 10:12pm)
3) Liesel: Oh for the loveah. I thought you were going to say Lucy passed away with a title like that plus the photo montage of her life. Came close to tears after the emotional couple of weeks I've had. Glad that turned out differently. Whew. (08.01.2010 11:23pm)
4) Susan Samson: I was thinking the same thing! My heart was breaking more and more as I read. (08.02.2010 12:03am)
5) deepa: That pic IS scary! Poor Lucy:( (08.02.2010 08:21am)
6) TMae: What a lovely montage for Lucy! (I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs named Lucy, but also for black lab-like dogs, as I have a black lab named Lucy. This means that I love both of your dogs!) That picture of her with the teeth, and the devil eyes is PRICELESS. (08.02.2010 08:22am)
7) Jessica @ How Sweet It Is: Oh this is too sweet! (08.02.2010 08:44am)
8) Katy @MonsterProof: Aw, poor baby. Very sweet. (08.02.2010 08:56am)
9) Breann: We are curious to see how our 2 dogs adjust to the baby when he arrives... should be interesting! (08.02.2010 10:33am)
10) Alaina: Aw poor Lucy...and on a side note, I now have that Beatles song playing in my mind. And I probably will for the remainder of the day... (08.02.2010 10:35am)
11) Mindee@ourfrontdoor: I was holding my breath through this whole post, fearful that it was going to end in Lucy's death. Whew. Now that I'm breathing again - great post! Lucy is precious. (Thx for the kind comment today Katie. :) ) (08.02.2010 10:47am)
12) Meghan: I just had to post a comment to say the picture of Lucy baring her teeth at Molly is unbelievably scary/awesome. And the pictures of her in little doggy clothing totally cracked me up! (08.02.2010 10:54am)
13) Jamie: The picture of lucy in fight mode is hilarious! I have a very similar picture of my cats that makes me laugh everytime i see it! http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/4131/may22067.jpg (08.02.2010 10:56am)
14) Kristen: Poor lucy! I love that story. It reminds me of my parent's yorkie and golden retriever. Life changed as they knew it! (08.02.2010 11:33am)
15) Ashley: Some of those pictures cracked.me.up!! :) Too funny! (08.02.2010 11:54am)
16) Joke: Me too! My heart sank immediately! I was so relieved when I arrived at the end and it turned out she's fine :) (08.02.2010 12:14pm)
17) jescady.com: I love that first picture of you and Lucy. I know how you must feel about Lucy. Even though she is a dog, she has been there with you through some of the most special and exciting times of your life. I feel the same way about my Shelby. (08.02.2010 12:51pm)
18) Sarah C. H.: Aww, poor sweet Lucy. Haha. Such cute pictures. (08.02.2010 01:27pm)
19) Niki: What a hard life for poor Lucy. ;-) I too was afraid this was going to end with her death. I'm so glad it didn't. (08.02.2010 01:29pm)
20) Heather in ND: I love doggie posts! Your pups are sweet! :) (08.02.2010 01:30pm)
21) Brent: Ahh, poor Lucy. At least she shows she capable of change. :) (08.02.2010 01:32pm)
22) Gin: I'm glad I wasn't the only one worried! (08.02.2010 01:35pm)
23) Laura: I wrote a loooong very creepy comment about loving this blog, but have now shortened it into point form: - I love this blog (after 2 weeks of reading and very unhealthy stalker-like behaviour) - You are now my hypothetical-favorite-blog-friend (yay! I know right!) - I am secretly afraid of Lucy - I am secretly besotted with the Bean (omg) That's better. The creep factor has been reduced (but not much, sorry :'( ) (08.02.2010 03:19pm)
24) Megan (Best of Fates): Lucy has lived quite a life for a such a little dog. Maybe she should write a book of her own. (And no you writing it and pretending to be her - it'll be her book, give her a moment in the sun.) (08.02.2010 03:47pm)
25) Casper: I am curious to see how my dog will act when our little one arrives. He is already acting really sad and neglected. (08.02.2010 07:22pm)
26) Renee: I totally thought the same thing. Phew. (08.02.2010 10:04pm)
27) Christy: This post had me tearing up. Pups are so resilient. They just ask for a little love in return. :) I'm glad Lucy's still getting her snuggles. (08.03.2010 01:03pm)
28) Megan: Poor Lucy...poor, poor Lucy. Her and Dolly should start a club. An "I wanna be an only child" club. :-) Megan http://reddirtandcrazy.blogspot.com/ (08.03.2010 02:44pm)
29) Andrea: I'm right there with ya on this, Laura! I wrote an eerily similar comment last week after spending 4 straight days reading Katie's past blog entries obsessively! Such a fabulous addiction, right? I love it :-P Glad I've got some company! (08.03.2010 06:11pm)
30) Kimberly Loomis~The Musicians Wife: Ah, the life of a dog. If she's anything like my pooch, she doesn't eat cheerios anymore...she's too good for that! =) (08.04.2010 08:19pm)
31) Ashley: Molly is Beautiful! she reminds me of our Ruger except she looks fluffier =) Poor Lucy -- she seems to have adjusted to her new life =) (08.13.2010 04:00pm)