The Itsy Bits - Alec and Lucky

Sometimes you just cannot adopt another dog. Each dog who becomes a member of the family means added permanent expense. After 8 months we nearly failed as foster parents for a second time as it was looking like little Lucky was not going to be adopted. 

To be honest it was understandable. Lucky had been a puppy mill breeder and had produced over a dozen litters it was believed. At some point in her life as a breeder Lucky had lost her right rear foot. It was apparent the vet who had repaired the damage had done his/her best to create a functional foot for Lucky, she was simply missing about one inch of leg/foot and did the best she could with her repaired leg/foot.

Lucky was basically a feral dog when we took her in and had a mean streak about a mile wide. I speak from experience as Lucky bit me every chance she got for about a week. It was evident she had not only suffered from her experiences as a puppy mill breeder, she had been abused by a human male.

Lucky warmed up to my wife and daughters after a couple of months and would allow them to pick her up. Although I became her favorite human, and Lucky eventually picked a male to adopt her as her human, she never overcame her fear of being picked up by a human male. 

Lucky was nothing if she was not adaptable though and one of her favorite places to be was being held by a human, particularly her favorite human. Since Lucky would not allow a human male to pick her up, she devised an acceptable, to her, solution to the problem.

She would jump and poke me repeatedly until I sat down. As soon as I was sitting Lucky was in my lap and crawled up on my chest so she could attach herself and make known her demand to be held, preferably standing up. 

If I wanted or needed to pick Lucky up, all I had to do was sit down, pat my lap and she readily jumped up, ready to be held or carried.

Lucky's favorite person, and the individual who essentially "tamed" her, was our little Alec. Alec weighed all of 8.3 pounds soaking wet on a full stomach and Lucky, who was even tinnier than Alec, weight just slightly over 7 pounds.

To Al's dismay, Lucky just adored him. If Lucky was not in my lap or snuggling with another human family member, she was curled up with Alec. Nor did it matter how hard Alec tried to get away from Lucky, she simply pursued him until he gave up and let her curl up with him. Al eventually gave in and the two became inseparable buddies.

My wife nicknamed the two the "Itsy-Bits." They made a cute pair of Iggies.

Lucky was eventually adopted and led the life of a spoiled little diva. Sadly, her years as a puppy mill breeder combined with poor vet care shortened her life span. The last years of her life though Lucky lived as a spoiled Iggy diva, just as she was meant to be.

Great Introductory Video for Anyone Thinking About Adopting an Italian Greyhound

The link below will take you to a short, less than five minutes long, video that provides a good overview about the breed.  If you are interested in adopting an Iggy, Italian Greyhound, this video is a quick and easy way to see if the breed might be a good fit for you.

To see the video click here.

The photo above shows our most recent foster, Sampson, known as Sammy, who was recently adopted. A senior, Sammy was almost our second failed foster. Senior Iggies make wonderful companions and have gotten past, mostly, the high energy level Iggies can have until age 5 or 6 in some cases.

Lucky - Our Favorite Foster (Alec's Too!) - Consider Fostering an Italian Greyhound!

Lucky was a tiny seal (black), seven pound Italian Greyhound who had spent the first 7 or 8 years of her life as a puppy mill breeder. Lucky had lost her left hind foot sometime during her puppy mill years. Life as a puppy mill breeder had not been kind to Lucky.

When I picked Lucky up from the family who had done her take-in, it was evident Lucky had not only spent her life giving birth to puppies, she had not been socialized for human contact. Lucky was in essence a feral dog!

Upon arrival at our house, Lucky wasted no time letting Angel, our mixed female, and Berkeley, our biggie Iggie, know who was boss and there would be no questioning her authority! Alec was a different matter entirely. Lucky was seemingly smitten with Alec. It was love at first sight! Poor Alec never knew what hit him!

Lucky lived with us as our foster for over 8 months before she was adopted. When she left our family for her forever home, Lucky had gone from a nearly wild dog who was terrified of humans and being inside and who would bite to defend herself, to a gentle, loving little diva, who loved nothing better than napping sprawled across a human member of our family. Nothing that is except snuggling up to Alec!

The Itsy-bits, Alec and Lucky, outside together.

The link to a video below was filmed and produced by Jean Stiplevich and was used to help "market" Lucky to potential forever families. So many people had taken one look at spunky little Lucky's missing foot and passed on adopting her, extra measures were taken by the IG rescue to help place Lucky. Alec appears here and there in the video and you get an idea of just how small these two Iggies were. They were so small my wife Lisa dubbed the pair of lovebirds the "Itsy-bits."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tT-aYrXGU4

Lucky was a determined little customer who would not take no for an answer. Once Lucky decided humans were not so bad, she decided sleeping in a crate by herself was no longer the way a tiny princess should spend her nights. Especially since loverboy Alec and pest Berkeley got to sleep under warm blankets with their humans.

So that night Lucky started barking. This in itself was unusual as Lucky just didn't bark. She kept this up the entire night, depriving the humans of the house of any sleep, not that Lucky cared.

The next night as soon as all was quiet, Lucky resumed her policy of no human sleeps until she was in bed with Alec! After trying to get her to sleep with our youngest daughter, Emily, for several hours, my wife Lisa in a fit of irritation said to just get Lucky and let her sleep with us. If Lucky still kept barking she was heading to another foster home!

Up the stairs I went to get Lucky. I opened the door to Emily's room and a little black missile sped between my feet, down the stairs, took the corner skidding on our hardwood floor and zoomed down the hall into the master bedroom! I got back in bed, not even bothering to look for Lucky.

About twenty minutes later I was awakened from a sound sleep by snarling from Alec. It would seem little Miss Lucky had found her way under the blankets and was muscling Alec out of his preferred sleeping spot during the winter, snuggled against my side under my right arm while resting his chin on my shoulder.

In the dim light I could see poor Alec's confused expression as he looked at me, almost as if to ask "what am I supposed to do with her?" That night a content Lucky slept comfortably in Alec's spot, using Alec rather than my shoulder for a pillow.

Alec gave up trying to resist Lucky's advances fairly quickly and each night with a resigned look on his face, Alec would move to let Lucky have the preferred sleeping spot. Poor Berkeley just looked on each night with a sad expression as Lucky would not give him the time of day, other than to let Berkeley know she thought he was rude and boorish!

Lucky "muscles" Alec out of his Daddy's lap once again!

The Itsy-bits became inseparable and followed each other everywhere. While we were happy Lucky was finally adopted, we were sad to see her leave as was Alec, who was sad to see his little princess go.

We learned several years later that Lucky lived out her days as a spoiled little Iggy Princess who ruled the roost. She developed cancer and passed away in her sleep one night. 

While Lucky lived the last years of her life being loved and spoiled like all little Iggy Princesses should be, there are still far too many Iggies who live horrible lives working as breeders in puppy mills. Any chance you get, please support efforts to shut down puppy mills and put an end to the horrible conditions these animals, regardless of breed of dog, live in.

When puppy mills are closed, often large numbers of animals must come into rescue or be put to sleep humanely. These animals have done nothing wrong other than have the misfortune to become the possession of a puppy mill operator. Please consider being a foster parent for a dog needing shelter, medical care and socialization until a forever home can be found.

To Lucky and Alec, a pair of puppy mill survivors whose years were too few in number. Both are classic examples of the kind of wonderful, loving and entertaining companion a survivor of a puppy mill can become. They just need a chance.

 Lucky relaxing with me after a demanding film session for her debut film!