I Love Lucy

Okay, so YES we bought a dog!!! Everyone meet the newest member of our family: Lucy!

We had been talking about getting Cruise a dog for a long while and felt that it was finally time. We didn't want a dog just to have one, but to aid in Cruise's therapy. We had always noticed that Cruise was calmer, happier, and less prone to meltdowns around animals, particularly around dogs. We looked into getting him an Autism Service Dog, but the cheapest one we could find was $10,000. So we settled on $65 Lucy from the Lindon Animal Shelter instead. Lucy is about 5-6 years old. She is very calm and well behaved. When Cruise and I went to the shelter, we walked in the door to the dog area and instantly all the dogs started barking and jumping...all except Lucy. She sat there wagging her tail, looking hopeful, but as calm as can be. Her cage didn't have her name or information like the other dogs, and instantly, Cruise connected with her. I talked to the staff there and they gave me her info. We took her into a "get to know you" room where she sat nicely while Cruise brushed and hugged her. The last test was the cats. We are tending my in-laws 3 cats while they are on their mission, so we needed to be sure the dog we got was good around cats. The staff said I could take her into the cat room, which I did, and she acted cool and calm. It didn't even phase her. So I signed the papers, paid the $65, and took her home. She definitely has her quirks though, like never wanting to let go of the ball and wanting to explore the neighborhood from time to time, but she is an amazing companion for Cruise.

Since getting Lucy, Cruise has been sleeping through night, his meltdowns have decreased quite a bit, he screams when Jett cries only 50% of the time (compared to the 100% of the time as before), he will play outside on his tree house by himself now when Lucy is outside (whereas before he would only if someone was playing with him), he has been learning responsibility (he is the one who feeds her, takes her out to go potty, walks her, and brushes her), and he has a friend who genuinely understands him. She sleeps on his bed and therefore when he gets up, she does. I like to think of her as the Mother's Helper. She really has been a huge help to all of us, and Cruise just adores her.

Lucy, Jack and Meister (one of the more aggressive cats). They all get along at a distance.