Luke and Lucy

Last July, I lost my beloved Wheaten rescue pup, Copper. In the six years I had him, Copper suffered three herniated disks after falling from a grooming table, and then we coped with the long term effects of PLN. Copper had the best Wheaten characteristics … he was sweet and vulnerable, and the house was too, too quiet without him.

I had grown to love the breed so much, that almost immediately after Copper’s passing, I surfed the internet and found Wheatens In Need and put in an application for a rescue dog. Shortly after, I received a call from Susan Pippin, the rescue coordinator for the North Carolina area. She understood my grieving and vowed to find me a Wheaten rescue.

Less then two months later, I received a wonderful call from Susan telling me that Hurricane Ike in Texas had displaced many dogs and that Gwen Arthur was housing 11 dogs as a result. She had rescued Luke (probably age 7) and his daughter Lucy (a puppy about 6 months of age) from a kill shelter and she wanted to place them together. Apparently Lucy was very dependent on Luke and she couldn’t bear to have her Daddy out of her sight. While a number of people had expressed interest in Lucy because she was a puppy, Luke wasn’t quite as marketable because of his age. Gwen sent me a photo of Luke, and he had so many similar features to Copper, that I immediately said I would take both dogs.

Gwen and her husband went to extraordinary lengths to have the dogs vetted and transported to Houston for air transport to Raleigh. It’s hard for me to imagine why the previous owners of these dogs didn’t search harder or longer for these special pups. They were probably puppy mill bred, as they are smaller wheatens and they are the sweetest dogs I have ever owned.

Luke and Lucy love each other, and they like to cuddle with each other on their bed or in their crate. Lucy likes to show her puppylike qualities by wrestling with Luke and she loves to play hide and seek. Luke is a cuddler … he is content to sit next to you and snort with satisfaction. Luke and Lucy have never met a stranger and they love all of the children in the neighborhood. They are terrific travellers and our home is full of love because these pups have joined the family.

While we will never know Lucy’s actual birthday, we decided that we would celebrate on March 22nd. 45 neighbors and friends came to the house. The 18 children present received “dog” tattoos and “doggie” treat bags. Lucy wore her party hat and she received lots of presents, including chew toys, and treats. While none of the adults had ever been to a dog’s birthday party before, everyone agreed that it was a great fun!

Thanks to Gwen, Don, Susan and everyone who supports the rescue efforts for Wheaten Terriers. We are so grateful to have love back in our home.

Elizabeth