It’s time for a short blog about a Panera fixture no longer with us. Lucy, our wonderful labrador, came with me to the P almost every day. In every season, she curled up in the back seat and slept, waiting for the visits of her many Panera buddies.
In the winter she’d curl up on her blanket, but I always left a window partially down so she could peek her head out to say hi to her friends. Being a lab with a thick pelt, she loved the cold. When I would work outside in the winter, Lucy would find the best snowbank to curl up in to watch. One winter day, when Lucy was about a year old and very much a puppy, I came out of Panera to see a woman with a very angry face looking in the car at her. Before I could ask if Lucy had done anything wrong, she turned to me and said that she was going to call the police and report whoever it was that left this dog out in the cold. I said, “that would be me. Let me introduce you to Lucy, a labrador who is most happy when the temperature is freezing.” I opened the door. Lucy bounced happily over to meet the woman. Lesson learned.
Lucy did not like warm weather an awful lot. She liked air conditioning, so when we would park at Towne Centre in the summer, I would find a spot in the shade for her. Sometimes, when it was too hot, she had to be left home. This annoyed her.
Lucy befriended so many people at Panera. Dale, both Toms, Nick, and more. And Elizabeth, who we have lost track of, always inquired into Lucy’s health and happiness. I remember coming out on a summer day to see a teenage girl standing by the car scratching Lucy’s ears. I walked over and said, “This is Lucy.” The girl looked at me, smiled, and said, “I like her so much.” I’m not sure if she was offering in a subtle way to adopt Lucy if I didn’t want her. I don’t think so. Everyone liked Lucy so much. Although I do remember a time when I was throwing frisbees to Mandy, our dog before Lucy, who was both a genius dog and an athlete. She would sore through the air at Bolivar School yard and snatch the flying discs. A boy, who I knew from school, came up to me one day and said, “Mr. Ellstrom, if you ever don’t want Mandy, I’ll take her.” Pardon this diversion, but I thought it fit.
Lucy had been gone for almost two years, and I still miss her and think of her daily. When she passed, my Panera friends were saddened and kind. Months after the fact, they would say to me, “when I pass your car, I still always look in to see Lucy.” They used to ask when I was going to get another dog. Another puppy? They’ve pretty much stopped now. I have been unable to act on getting a new dog. I just wasn’t ready to for months after Lucy died unexpectedly. And now I don’t act because a dog is so demanding on an owner’s time, although I always loved that about them. Also, traveling is so much easier when you don’t have to worry about the canine member of your family. I would love to call up a breeder and order up a female yellow English puppy. I watch videos of them on YouTube, sometimes. But I don’t think I am ready to take care of a puppy anymore. They get up so early, get into so much stuff, and remain amoral little beasts until they are a year old or so and decided to finally join up with your pack. I’m afraid I need to take care of Linda and myself more than a puppy. But who knows.
I’m thinking that next fall, I will find an older dog at a shelter to adopt. A dog who likes to sleep in, is housebroken, and doesn’t feel she has to run everywhere we go. I called that possible future dog a “she” because I have always owned females. I suppose it’s too much to hope that I would come upon a 4 or 5 year old, female yellow English lab to adopt, although I will search the lab rescue sites that aren’t too far away.
This post is not about me, though. It’s in memory of Lucy, pedigree name: Lucy Lima Bean, in honor of the LL Bean catalog labs. The sweetest natured dog I’ve ever known. A dog who spent 8 and 1/2 years with us making people smile. One of my friends said, “that she was the only dog he had ever met, who made you feel that you were her best friend, the first time she met you.” I thought I might have a terrible time writing this post. Not at all. I loved it. Didn’t shed a tear. Just enjoyed the sweet memories of our sweet Lucy.
This didn't turn out as short as I thought it would be.
photos: Lucy enjoying the winter and suffering in the summer.
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