[alaskayorkie]

Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., Kelly and I are picking up Lucy. She's a 9- or 10-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Eddie and Jillie's new big sister.

To be honest, when a friend approached me right after Rusty died, I told her it was too soon. Yes, we wanted another big dog, but I thought we needed a little more time.

Well, I'm sort of a never-say-never kinda guy, and I told Lucy's rescuer that I would run it by my wife. Chessies happen to be one of her favorite breeds.

And the rest is history. Kelly was moved by Lucy's story -- Two years ago, she spent 2 months in animal control with no one wanting to adopt her. My friend, who rescues Chessies, picked her up and placed her with a great dog family.

Unfortunately, that family has 4 other dogs, including a pushy cattle dog that was always in Lucy's face. Lucy ignored her for 2 years before giving her a warning recently. They were hoping that would solve the problem, but it incited the cattle dog even further. There was no peace in the house for Lucy, so the owner told the rescuer he needed to find a new home for her.

We did two meetups with Lucy before making up our mind. The first was an outdoor meetup with my two and Lucy. They got along just fine. They checked each other out, then went on their own way. The Yorkies didn't harass her, and she wasn't overly curious. The next day, I picked Lucy up for 3 hours. I took her on a couple walks to the park, and she did fantastic. I wasn't planning on letting her off-leash, but she was so good on leash that I gave it a try. She loved the freedom, but the first time I called her name, she turned on a dime and sprinted back to me. She has a terrific recall. We also hung out in the house, and Lucy sniffed every corner of it, took a poop in the yard, then settled down right by my feet. Eddie and Jillie didn't smother her with affection, but there was no hostility either.

The clincher for me was when I dropped her off at her home. During the meetup, she was sort of clingy with her owner -- staying close to him until she realized we were OK. But when we dropped her off, she pulled at her leash to stay with us! You might say, she had me at goodbye.

For those who know Rusty's story, rest assured we have Megan's blessing. She grilled me to make sure I wasn't trying to replace him (From certain angles, Lucy looks a LOT like Rusty). But I convinced her, and myself, that that's not the case. There's no replacing Rusty. But there is a job opening in the house. We have room for 3, and Rusty showed me that a senior dog is the perfect fit for us.

So wish us luck in our newest doggie adventure. I'm sure you'll be hearing lots about Lucy in the years to come.