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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Everyone,<BR>First I want to send joy and best
wishes to all who have recently acquired a </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>basset; heartfelt sympathy and tears to all who
have lost their dear <BR>companions; and lots of drool to all those in
need.<BR><BR>I read a letter saying it would be nice to know a little about all
those <BR>beautiful faces contending for basset of the week. The stories could
be <BR>quite interesting. I'm going to go ahead and tell you about my
Lucy.<BR><BR>I love Lucy dearly and wouldn't give her up for anything but she is
not the <BR>young beauty queen she had been although at 9&1/2 she's still my
beauty and <BR>always will be. I became aware of Lucy when she was about two
yrs. and <BR>sometimes, even still, I get tears in my eyes when I look at her
and think <BR>of what her first yrs. were like. My beautiful, loving Lucy was
kept in a <BR>pen that measured about 4ft.X 4ft. with a heavy chain around her
neck <BR>attached to a little plastic igloo that sat directly on the ground and
was <BR>kept at the farthest point from the house because she barked. >From the
time <BR>she was a brand new puppy she never had any toys except for a plastic
water <BR>dish that was filled in the AM but if she wanted to pass some time,
which I <BR>guess seemed never ending, and spilled her water while trying to
play with <BR>her dish, well, that had been her quota for the day. As far as
food went, <BR>some was thrown over the fence onto the ground once a day or so.
No one ever <BR>cleaned her enclosure out so she was living in her own filth.
What a will to <BR>live that girl had. Maybe, in the back of her mind she knew
things would <BR>change some day and was just hanging on.<BR><BR>When I became
aware of the situation I was enraged and threatened the people <BR>that if they
didn't hand the dog over to me I would have the law on them <BR>faster than they
could blink. I had at one time dated the city dog warden <BR>and graduated with
the state animal enforcement officer and would have <BR>called them in if
necessary but in my rage the people saw the light and said <BR>I should take the
damn dog cause they thought she would die soon anyway. <BR>Lucy came right to me
as if she knew, She shied away from the people that <BR>owned her. That poor
girl was bloated up like one of those starving babies <BR>you see on TV. Her
toenails were the texture of about a 4or5 month pup. She <BR>got right in the
car with me and never looked back. When I got her home she <BR>urinated on the
floor about the size of a quarter and the color of a penny. <BR>I truly believe
I got her just in time. She was terrified of my husband when <BR>he came in from
work, his heart was broke at first. The man must have abused <BR>her physically
also. With a lot of love and patience she came around and now <BR>she's a real
daddy's girl, (and mommy's too, but don't tell him). By the <BR>time she
was three or so she was already greying in the face, I guess <BR>because of the
terrible nutrition when she was young. we are truly blessed <BR>to have her
still.<BR><BR>I now have 3 bassets, Lucy was our first. I always wanted a cute
little <BR>basset puppy but the ones in need always seem to find me.<BR><BR>By
the way, Lucy is my little chunky girl now, we always used to pity her <BR>and
give her tastes of everything because she never had anything before but <BR>I
discovered I couldn't get her to go for long walks due to her deep seated
<BR>fear of strangers. As soon as she sees someone she turns around and dives
<BR>for home. Our vet is amazed that considering her beginnnings and being
<BR>somewhat overweight that she is in such good health. Even though she's
<BR>starting to slow down some she's still queen of the pack and lets the other
<BR>ones know it when she has to.<BR><BR>This is part of my darling Lucy's
story, I didn't want to write a book but <BR>if you're curious to see her she's
in the top row all the way to the right <BR>of the bassets vying for Basset of
the Week.<BR><BR>Thank you for reading this and never be afraid to give your
love to an older <BR>basset in need. The love and thankfulness they give you is
the best feeling <BR>in the world.<BR><BR>Jeannie
Quinn<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>