Lucy Lockley

FAREWELL TO OUR LOVELY GIRL (2005? – 28.3.2017)

A heartbroken Nigel told us “Sadly, Lucy has gone to the Bridge. She went across on 28th March 2017 and is now pain free. Lucy has been the best friend we could ever have had and we thank you all at IRR for trusting us to be her forever family”.

In Ireland, she had the most dreadful start to her life but all that changed when she was adopted by Cindy and Nigel. She wanted for nothing and she repaid their love by being the most special girl she could be especially when her Dad was so poorly and she was his rock. Fly high with the angels, beautiful girl. You were, truly, one in a million.

Nigel remembered: “Lucy was a very timid little girl without a nasty bone in her body. Very wary of adults, particularly men, but once her trust was earned, her true lovable self appeared. Children, however, held no fear for her and she loved being around our grandchildren. On a walk, she would keep a close eye on the them, a proper little nursemaid. Never happier than when she could swim somewhere, sea, river, muddy puddle. Once a month, we would go to our local hydrotherapy pool. Turning off the main road, she knew where we were going and couldn’t contain her excitement in the back of the car. All the staff knew when Lucy was around, as her only way of entering the pool was to jump in splashing anyone around!

A ball was another of her loves and she would chase and carry one all the way on our walks. Lucy loved the caravan trips as she knew we would all be spending a lot of time outside.

IRR reunions at Bath were a favourite trip where she just had a wonderful time with old friends like Blarney, who was in love with Lucy, Charlie who just wanted to play ball and especially her Fancy Dress partner, Gizmo.

As Lucy got older, she started having problems with her joints becoming inflamed and arthritic. Consequently, our walks became shorter and her ball was carried more than it was chased. Still, if she saw a friendly dog face, she wanted to go for a play and chase. Then Lucy had a “vestibular syndrome” attack. This causes the balance system to shut down and is a very scary thing for a dog to suffer. After having four attacks in three weeks, Lucy went for an MRI scan and the tumour was found.

Even with the help of medicine, she was only given a few weeks to live. Sadly, she became more uncomfortable and we had to make the decision to end her discomfort.

She will always be missed, not only by Cindy and myself, but by anybody who was lucky enough to have met her.

Run free Lulu, we will meet up again.

This little poem was written by a friend who so wanted to be Lucy’s pal”.

I WAS LUCKY

Could be said I was lucky without the k
These might be the things I was hoping to say
A friend, who can spell wrote them for me
I was twelve years of age and my name was Lucy

I had foxy red fur, loved a ball in the park
If you called, I was in, you knew by my bark
First two years of my life they weren’t up to much
No better than a rabbit trapped in a hutch

That time having passed, the hell came to an end
I was rescued by some charitable friends
Making sure I was healthy, luck played it’s part
They found me a couple, I melted their heart

Though uncertain and nervous they offered me more
Settled by love, I was their new Labrador
I would play with the grand kids without any strife
With them all was happy for the rest of my life

Fed well, all the comforts, I had it made
A dog has its day, mine was a decade