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Sweet Lucy's 9th
birthday
April
2004
  Happy,
happy birthday Sweet Lucy!!!
Sweet
Lucy has been part of our family for over nine years now! She is
still very youthful, energetic and playful. When she meets new
people in the street, they think that she is a puppy. However, she
has also gotten a bit "crankier" with age and on occasion lets us
know with that rolling terrier growl that she is not happy with
something (but, of course, we don't let her get away with it). For
example, when we humans or our other dogs want her to give up that
good spot on the sofa. Well, who wouldn't get mad about that... :o)
Update: We later found out that
Lucy's crankiness was caused by hypothyroidism she developed at old
age. Once she started taking thyroid hormone supplements, her
crankiness was gone!
Her
general health is good. She still has excellent eyesight and
hearing, and has no trouble running around if needed. Last year, she
had a little skin tag growing on her nose. (My old Xolos have them as
well.) Our vet removed the benign growth with cryosurgery. That was
it. With age, her brown skin spots have increased in size and
number. As a puppy, her left side was all pink. Now it is covered
with spots. She also has started developing age related "white
freckles" on her face in the brown areas.
Lucy's
biggest health scare happened a couple of years ago when she was
viciously attacked by a loose dog on the street. Lucy was on a
leash, of course. (How I wish that all dog owners would obey the
leash laws and keep their dogs under control. Especially the large
dogs! We have had several close calls with them.) Lucy and I had no
idea there was even a dog in the vicinity until the swift and silent
attack happened. Like an explosion without any warning. This dog was
larger than Lucy and attacked her without any kind of provocation.
(Lucy got surprised.) Lucy had multiple scrapes and bite wounds covering her body. One of
the bites damaged her abdominal wall causing a small part of the
intestines to bulge out. She had surgery that same day and,
fortunately, recovered with no complications or residuals. Poor
Lucy...!
Lucy
has kept her figure. She is still the perfect 12lb and 12" she was
eight years ago as a young adult. She free-eats dry dog food and
enjoys additional treats as well.
Lucy
stopped the sofa destruction a long time ago (switching from fabric
to leather sofa helped too). Now, whenever she feels the urge to
chew, she will go to her toybox and pick a stuffed toy instead.
Occasionally, she still tries to nibble fabrics, like our t-shirts.
Also, product tags are the greatest to nibble on, in her opinion.
The best part of her chewtoys is often the tag!
Lucy
also likes to "play-fight" through the fence with our neighbor's dog.
When Lucy notices that her doggie neighbor is at the fence, she gets
all excited and starts breathing heavily in anticipation of a good
barking showdown. It's the highlight of her day. After the barking
match she comes back in all energized and happy. Can't take the
terrier out of the AHT! However, Lucy knows that I don't tolerate
that loud behavior, so, she only does it when I'm nowhere to be
seen. That little rascal... :o)
Thoughts on outdoor walks and dog attacks
AHTs are terriers and often forget how small they are. Some like to
stir trouble with other dogs. Hairless dogs don't have fur to protected
them against other dogs'
teeth. Take some precautions and be safer.
- Keep your dog on a short leash near you. A long Flexi leash
would let your dog go too far from you. In a dog attack
situation, your dog would be totally out of your control. I
know, this happened to us. :o(
- Another idea is to keep your small dog in a harness and a
short leash during outdoor
walks. If you are lucky enough to have an advance warning of the
impending dog attack, you can quickly and safely pull your dog
up to your lap.
- Attacking dogs seem to go for the head, neck and chest area.
Wearing a thick (the thicker and less permiable, the better) sweater with a long neck
could offer the
hairless skin some protection from the bites. Unfortunately,
this is only feasible in the winter. How about an AHT in a wide
spike collar!?!
- Know your neighborhood and avoid walking right past houses
where dogs might get out of their yards and attack yours. This
is how my hairless dogs have been attacked a couple of times. :o(
- Stay alert to your surroundings at all times and keep your
eye out for loose running dogs.
- Some people carry pepper spray
 , electric stingers, or ultrasonic dog trainers
(high-pitched
beepers) with them to scare loose dogs away. Others carry strong
sticks or umbrellas with them. I used to carry an ultrasonic
dog-shooer with me. It did stop loose dogs on their tracks if
they were approaching us slowly. It did not stop dog attacks
that were already in progress.
- You could also put your little dog into a
dog stroller.
Many of these doggie strollers and all terrain pet joggers have
safety nets that snap on to cover the seat opening. Your dog
wouldn't get exercise, but at least he could enjoy the sites and
smells.
Ps. More Lucy updates on the AHT diseases page.'6 - 2008
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