UPDATE from Lucy’s foster mom: She is a really really good girl. I am so in love with her. She gets so excited when I say come here Lulu.. She rolls on her back and wants me to rub her belly. or she will jump up on me.. but I am teaching her not to do that.. as much as I like it it is a bad habit.. but I am easy on her because I don’t want to scare her. She is sensitive to firmness. Therefore I won’t go there with her. She loves to cuddle .. full on cuddle bug… When she is outside walking I think she still has another agenda. Sometimes she is so easy going walking and other times she just wants to go and even run.. but I think that is when she is trying to get somewhere other than a walk..I can’t tell you how good she is.. She is so precious. She hates cameras and she hates her cone. She just wants to be loved. I don’t think she has a problem with other dogs either. she almost seems scared of them if they bark.. Her ears go down and she almost crouches down. I hope that she was never hurt by another dog. She now wants to chase cats. She definitely has a lot of spunk in her. She shows no signs of sickness or pain. Her favorite this to do is to eat. I think she has gained only a little weight . Hard for me to tell since I see her every day.. But I just up’d her food last night. She takes her pills and power like a champ.. that’s cause it’s in food. She will do anything for food!

We took Lucy from the West LA shelter yesterday. She is a wonderful, gentle staffy/boxer mix who has some health issues that we are looking into. Thanks to the generosity of the folks who rescued her, she will receive great care. If you are interested in fostering Lucy and helping her recuperate from her long journey. We are looking for a home with no other dogs because although she is very friendly, she needs rest and quiet. Contact us at foster@muchlove.org for more information.

The dog came to our notice on 3/20 that she was in the flood control channel, when we heard her howl at night, looking for her owners and a way out.  She relentlessly ran back and forth in the channels for 3-4 days without a whimper.  We were unable to leash her to safety, but during two attempts, although she seemed scared for her life, never growled or showed any aggression.  The Mar Vista community pulled together.  Jay and Nick, brothers in the area, went down in the channel and finally blanketed and saved the dog.  Once being placed gently in the trap the animal shelter had provided, the consoled dog ate from the Jay’s hand and allowed him to touch her teeth.  Through these challenging 3-4 days before being taken into the shelter, she was a dignified, graceful and very loving dog.

The WLA Animal Shelter identified her as a spayed female, 44 lbs, a bull terrier mix.  Most visible injury is the 2-3 inch open would on her left upper thigh/hip area, which the shelter could not treat (other than a megadose of antibiotics and pain meds) due to lack of best outcome possibilities at the shelter, and the high cost of surgery.  The shelter also treated her for a severe case of tapeworms in the first week, which Christine, the vet’s assistant said was easily curable.  She has cysts/tumors on her body, which have not yet been diagnosed.

She was in complete isolation and desolation during the 7 days holding period at the Shelter.  The dog, who had run a rigorous marathon in the channels just a week earlier seemed to have lost her spirit as she hid in her bed corner in the concrete cell.  She had not received any people or animal contact, other than when the shelter personnel treated her medically or fed her.   She was never walked during her 12 day stay at the shelter. It was not possible to socialize her due to the injury on her thigh and she remained in isolation until 4/3/13 when MUCH LOVE RESCUE pulled her from the shelter and directly to a hospital to receive the much needed medical care/surgery for her wound.

 VIDEO #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6xoZbJuMGU

VIDEO #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsCIFddz8fI