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Chiot’s Rest

August 11th, 2014

Our gardens were named after Lucy, the original chiots. “The Chiots” name was inspired by the French section of the dog food bag and the name stuck. Chiots, which we pronounce “chee-oats”, means puppy in French. There were many nicknames: Stinky Chiots, Brown Chiots, The Brown Wonder, Big Brown, The Luce, etc. She was a large part of the gardens, always being out and about with me as I weeded and worked, following me here and there. Yesterday was her final day in the garden, now instead of our garden being a place where the Chiots can run, it’s a place where the Chiots can rest.  A place where she can rest her weary, painful joints and enjoy peace.
lucy-playing-7
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Over twelve years ago we stopped the local dog pound on a Friday afternoon and spotted a lovely lab/hound mix with a few puppies. The puppies were born at the pound, their mama was dropped off a few days before she had them. We knew right away by the mom’s temperament that the puppies would end up being wonderful dogs.  With all the craziness that is the dog pound, barking, jumping, running, whining, she was standing quietly at the front of her kennel watching us, almost begging us to take one of her babies to give them a nice home. That day a little brown chiots came home with us, she rode in a cardboard box on my lap and she whined the entire way back to the house. She was covered in ticks and fleas, so we settled her into a kennel in the garage.
lucy (1)
At only 10 pounds and around 7 weeks old, she was a wee little thing. That night she got very, very ill with parvovirus. After reading that 95% of puppies with this virus die, we mourned the loss of our puppy and called the vet, who told us to try to keep her hydrated over the weekend and to bring her in on Monday if she survived. She managed to make it through the weekend and Monday morning found us at the vet’s office with Lucy in a box. They kept her for a few days and gave her IV fluids and we picked her up a few days later, full of spunk and energy. She only weighed 7 lbs at that point and was super skinny, but she had pulled through, we had our puppy.  We knew then she was going to be a tough dog, and she proved she was, many times throughout her life.
lucy
Lucy was a terror as a puppy, as most dogs are, digging up flowers, making a mess and generally being way too energetic for her own good. I’d be up every morning walking with her for miles trying to use up some of her boundless energy. That never really happened until a few years ago.
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Lucy was also a lover of cats, always enjoying when they slept and snuggled with her. She loved rubbing her nose in their soft fur.  Luckily all of our cats have always loved Lucy, except Dexter, who was leery at first but learned that she wasn’t so bad after all since she warned of visitors and other things with her barks. Every now and then you can even find Dexter sneaking in a rub on Lucy’s legs.
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Dressing up was also one of her favorite things, which is good because her cousins LOVED to dress her up. She had many costumes throughout the years and loved every single one.
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A Reindeer Chiots
Lucy ballerina 1
Chasing and biting at snowballs was a favorite winter activity. She really enjoyed winter and seemed to have extra energy whenever there was snow on the ground.
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Snow dog
Lucy also loved hanging out with her cousins (my sister’s kids).  We got her six months after our first niece was born, they have known Lucy all of their lives and have loved playing with her. One of her most favorite things was to go trick-or-treating with them every Halloween. No doubt they will feel her loss deeply as she is woven throughout their childhood memories.
Lucy 2008 1
Lucy 2008 2
lucy and the kids
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Lucy ballerina
Lucy’s arch nemesis was the UPS man, she’d sit in the front yard all day waiting for him to drive by. When we finally came she barked ferociously and then jumped in his truck to greet him with glee. I’m fairly certain he liked her as much as she liked him. He had dogs of his own and we even gave him homemade dog treats every year at Christmas.
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Lucy 2008 5
lucy leashed up
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lucy nose
Lucy & Daffodils
Lucy ended up being a large part of our lives.  She traveled with us, walked with us and was involved in many of our adventures.  She stole everyone’s heart when they met her “She’s the best dog” everyone always said after being around her. They all loved “The Luce” and so did we.  Though we are sad she is gone, we are happy that she is no longer in pain.  The last few months have been tough for her and for us. We knew when she stopped wagging her tail constantly that the pain was getting worse, even with increased doses of her pain meds.  Last Friday she had a stroke or a seizure and it became very difficult for her to walk. We knew, and she knew. We gave her the weekend of her life, she feasted on bacon, cat food, popcorn and ice cream.  She laid in the cool grass under her favorite tree and talked to her cousins via FaceTime.
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We took her on a last car ride, something she loved very much. Monday morning our vet put her to sleep, right in the back of the car. It was fitting really as it was one of her favorite spots. “Wanna go to gramma’s” was one of her favorite things to hear. She’s get excited and jump into the back seat. Though for the past couple years there has been no jumping into the back seat, she still gets very excited when she thinks it’s time for a ride. She was laid to rest in one of her favorite spots, the very spot she’d spend hours sleeping while I worked in the garden.  Next spring we will plant a tree here to always mark this special place.
So Long Lucy
Lucy 2014 3
So long old friend, we’ll miss having you in our lives. You were larger than life, woven through almost every memory we have from the last twelve and a half years.

54 Comments to “Chiot’s Rest”
  1. Chris on August 13, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    What a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to your beloved Lucy…I smiled at all the photos of her in her costumes, playing and laughing with her loving family and teared up reading about her life with you…She was truly loved. And this was your final show of love and compassion for her. I am so sorry she had to go but somehow I feel she will always be with you…there in her favorite spot in the garden….

    Reply to Chris's comment

  2. Lisa on August 14, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    It’s never easy. Beloved pets are so much a part of our lives and become so embedded in our hearts and memories. You gave her a wonderful life. Thank you for sharing her with us all.

    Reply to Lisa's comment

  3. Colleen on August 16, 2014 at 4:25 pm

    Im so sorry for your loss of Lucy. Your written tribute here honors her journey with the two of you perfectly. Thank you for sharing her story with all of us.Lucy definitely was one of the most blessed pups in her litter and she in turn, blessed your lives too.

    Reply to Colleen's comment

  4. Cindy on August 17, 2014 at 3:44 pm

    I am very sorry for your family’s loss. I have dogs and know how it feels. Lucy had an amazing life. Xo.

    Reply to Cindy's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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