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Kris Thompson and Bruce Young & Lucy
Our cherished Wire Fox Terrier passed away at the age of 15, and a few months later we felt we were ready to find another dog that needed a good home. We had our beloved 12 year old Portuguese Water Dog, Bogie who was also missing his companion. We thought we'd look for another Fox Terrier and contacted their rescue group.

A couple of weeks later we brought home a two year old Fox Terrier that we knew nothing about, no name, no history, except her approximate age. We had been told the couple who owned her were getting divorced and had given up the dog. We would learn the true story from the dog that was now a part of our family.

As soon as we brought Lucy home, she attacked our dog Bogie. Bogie didn't defend himself, but there was a lot of noise that scared us all. This behavior continued for months, and I hated to see Bogie suffer. At one time Lucy was pulled off Bogie by Kris, her new "mom" . Kris ended up in the hospital getting nine stitches in her finger. Another time she snapped at Bruce her new "dad', and bit him too. We were beside ourselves trying to figure out what to do. If she returned to the Fox Terrier Rescue she would surely be put down, since she couldn't be placed with another family after the biting incidents. In-home training with a qualified animal behaviorist wasn't enough. We knew Lucy had been abused at her former home, every time we'd go to pet her head, she'd duck down to the floor. When she was turned into rescue she had weighed 12 pounds and she should have weighed about 20 pounds.

The stress of having a dog that might attack our beloved Bogie at any given time was really causing a lot of tension in the house. She growled whenever Bogie walked into the family room. Part of the reason we got Lucy was to be a companion to Bogie. We were at a loss for what to do.

We found Sandra, who took Lucy home for three weeks of one-on-one training. Lucy went everywhere with Sandra, played with her dog as if they were best friends, and developed the confidence and behavior to make her a more sociable dog. Lucy came home a new dog! Her training was over a year ago, and she is now a very happy little dog. She wakes in the morning with a huge smile on her face and has become a loving, cuddly dog. She and Bogie sit together like old buddies.

I hate to think of what may have been if we hadn't found effective training to give Lucy the confidence she needed to be a happy and well adjusted dog!

Thanks Sandra