Lucy, North Bellmore, NY

My name is Lucy. My story begins when I was 7 months old.

I was abandoned and taken in by the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter. I was very shy and extremely scared around the staff as well as the other dogs, but the people took very good care of me. I was very underweight and the caring people gave me lots of food but I really didn’t eat that much. Since I was so afraid, I was put in a crate in the hallway so I away from the loud dogs and in a slightly quieter area. But I was so lonely. There I sat, sadly wondering what I did so wrong to be abandoned.

Lucky for me, a few weeks later my mom and dad came into the shelter. They had always wanted a dog, but lived in an apartment where no pets were allowed. As soon as they moved into their own house they were ready to welcome a dog into their home.

As they walked through the rooms at the shelter seeing all these wonderful dogs, they noticed that most of them were pit bulls or a pit mix. My parents had heard the stereotypes and had reservations about adopting a pit bull. At the time they knew very little about the breed. When they finally made it over to my crate, they tried to talk to me, but I just kept my head down.

My mom and dad asked why I was so timid, but since I was abandoned, no one knew what had happened to me before my arrival. It broke their heart to see the sadness and fear on my face. One of the nice staff members let my parents take me outside and walk me around. I was suddenly alive with excitement to be outdoors. I sniffed everything around me and jumped up and down. My mom and dad saw this enthusiasm in me and right away knew I was the dog for them.

The night that mom and dad took me home was an interesting one for all of us. I walked around very hesitant. I took slow steps, sniffed around, and kept looking behind me to see if my parents were still there. I was given food, which I ate right away.

My parents then gave me a toy ball with a rope attached to chew on. It was my first toy!! There I lay down contently on the soft rug chewing on my first toy in this new wonderful place. 🙂

The next morning I ran around the house very excited to explore this interesting new place. My dad was following me around as I went from room to room. Suddenly, my mom came into the room with a surprised look on her face and said to dad, “I’m pregnant!” After the initial excitement and shock sunk in, my parents turned to me with a look of concern on their face. I wasn’t even in the home for 12 hours and already was going to have a two-legged sibling – not to mention the first baby for mom and dad!

My parents were still trying to get past their concerns with owning a pit bull, but now there would be a baby arriving soon. The following few weeks I met many of my new family and friends. I was so very excited to meet everyone that came over. I would jump up on them to say hello and lick them to introduce myself, but so many of them were scared of me. Some were too scared to come near me. 🙁

Once mom and dad announced they were having a baby, some people said that I had to go; that it was dangerous and irresponsible to have a pit bull in the house with a baby. There were arguments about my presence and again I was confused. What did I do so wrong?

My parents discussed it and decided that they couldn’t send me back to the shelter. The thought of me sitting in my crate with that sad look on my face was not an option in their mind. They decided they would help get me ready for the arrival of my sibling.

We started with introductory obedience lessons. Guess what…I was really good at them! So good that I finished at the top of my class. I then moved on to the intermediate level, which I also exceled at. It turns out that I am a great listener (most of the time) and very smart. My mom and dad were so proud and even invited family members to my graduation classes.

Over the months we took long walks in parks to acclimate me being around different people, and visited lots of dog parks so that I could interact with other dogs. A few months later my sister, Juliet, arrived.

Juliet is now 10 months old and we just celebrated my second birthday in June. In the beginning, we would stare at each other wondering what the other was. She would sleep in her crib and I would lay there watching her. As months passed she began interacting with me more.

Every morning I join mom and dad to go wake Juliet up in her crib. She rolls over, smiles at me, and reaches her hand out, which I lick (my way of saying good morning). I follow her as she crawls and love it when she pets me. Sometime she pulls my tail a little, but it doesn’t bother me.

Mom and dad will explain to her how she needs to be nice and pet me gently, but she’s just a baby. I have a lot of patience with her – she is my sister! We have grown to be best friends! The same people that told mom and dad to get rid of me are so surprised to see how easy going I am with my sister. I actually act differently around Juliet, like I know how fragile she is.

We are a family! Mom and dad treat me like I am one of their babies. My family and friends come over to visit all the time and love to play with me. They say that I’ve changed the way they think about pit bulls – how awesome is that?! Already I have changed the way some people think about pit bulls.

I am loved. Isn’t that what every dog wants…just to be loved? I am happy to say I have found it!

My name is Lucy. I am a daughter, a sister, and a great friend! I am not a monster!

~Lucy

Parent: Danielle