Lucky (Quarry Hill Lochiel)

Lucky was a loving and very protective dog ever since we brought her home at about 12 weeks. I had seen her at a friends’ store (the puppies were visiting). She and I saw one another and instantly I felt she was the right one. There was a cheery little male who came bouncing up to me, but I liked the little female who just came out, politely licked my hand, and went back to lie down. I thought she would be a quiet dog! Should have realized that would not happen, but I had never owned a Sheltie. I’d always wanted a Collie (Albert Payson Terhune, etc). But she was perfect. They called her Sadie, because she had sad eyes, but I didn’t like that name, When we got her (having to extract her from a group of grown Shelties who wanted to keep her), we called her Lochiel (a place in Scotland). My son said all dogs need to be called Lucky or Spot, so we called her Lucky. Now he says he was just joking!
She was very sweet and loving, and as she grew, VERY protective. She would go out and bark at any dog and if they came to the house, try to attack them, no matter what the size. She barked at our friends, but once they were in the house, she did not want them to leave.
My husband, who loved her very much, would say,”Lucky, let’s go show them who the big dog is!” and they would go out. She liked to run out into the meadow and would chase cars that came down the hill (we live in a kind of community). We had to ask everyone to be cautious about running her over.
She would sleep in our bedroom, as close to us as she could get. She did not want to be in a bed with people though, just as well, as my husband is not the kind of person who likes to sleep with dogs. I am asthmatic and he was worried about this at first, but it was never a problem. I never had a single reaction or attack from Lucky’s presence. She had a foam bed at the end of our bed, and would move there later in the night after she was sure I would not get up and leave!
She did have separation anxiety, so it was hard to leave her. She hated being with people other than her family. She loved our son, and would run to the foot of the stairs when he went upstairs to try to keep him from leaving the herd-.. but she didn’t do that with anyone else. He was 18 ad went off to college, but she still kept a deep attachment to him that lasted her whole life. He eventually got a dog, Sandor, a beagle. When Sandor first came to the house, I would say, “Lucky and Sandor, TWO good dogs!” I repeated this many times. Have no idea if it made a difference, but she began to tolerate Sandor. He was the only dog we could leave her alone with. She became very fond of my son’s fianceé, Alice, who was very sweet to her.
Well she became old, deaf, and had many ailments, so with great difficulty we finally decided to have her put to sleep. I don’t think she wanted to go at all… but her body was painful and it was time. I thank her for being here with us. What a benediction!
I am calling this “Lucky, the Biggest Dog,” because she always believed herself to be the biggest dog in any situation. Now she is as big as the sky. Goodbye my baby! Run Free.