She was a GREAT dog

I was 23 when Lucy, my German Shepherd/ Labrador Retriever mix came home with me between 8-9 weeks of age. She was born completely black, then around 6 weeks, began developing the traditional tan markings of a shepherd. Lu's mom was a stray (or was dumped) who adopted my neighbors and began living in their boat tent. They decided to keep her after posting several "found ads" in the papers and on boards at the local vet hospitals, feed stores, and with the local dog officers. Lu's mom, who they named "Pita", began showing signs that she was more than well-fed after about a week of living with my neighbors. Another 2 months or so and they went from one unplanned dog to 10, yes she had NINE puppies, everyone was born healthy. It was assumed I would take one of them home, just had to convince my mom. I had initially thought I would take the fluffy golden retriever-like girl, but at 6 weeks, Lu, who was born completely black started showing tan points.

Lucy was going to be a big girl, she had huge feet. I convinced my mom and dad that she would only be around 40 lbs (I knew she'd grow to about 75 lbs), well they believed me and I brought her home when she was old enough.

I did not choose Lu only because of her markings. She was a sensitive puppy who I was concerned about. I didn't want her to end up tied to a tree in someone's backyard, with no socialization or training. I knew intuitively that she could have grown up to be a fear-biter under those circumstances. I didn't want that to happen to this cute dog.

Lu initially had things she was concerned about, but I took her everwhere that I could (and I'm sure a few places we weren't allowed) and because of that she matured into a VERY STABLE adult dog. The good thing about a nice German Shep mix is that people still act like they're a potentially "aggressive" dog. People would cross the street to avoid her, oh if they only knew how she was. She loved everyone. She was the type of dog who, when asked to jump, would answer "how high, do you want a little spin or flip or anything to make it look pretty?"

Lu was a comfort to have. When she was a year old, my dad passed away after a brief fight with pancreatic cancer. She did not know why we were so stressed and upset, but she knew what to do to ease the tension. I was so glad I taught her to retrieve and had her off lead all the time as a puppy. We would go for walks, play ball or just hang out.