Very late in responding to this, one of my favorite threads. All my pictures are analog though, so I had to dig them up - please forgive the crappy quality. They are photos of photos!
Here's Lucky the Dog - or just LTD. Started off tossed in a ditch with his littermates and an older sister. A kindly farmer found them while he was plowing his field, and brought them into the vet where we had left a request to call us if the got any pups in. When we came in to see the litter, the vet tech cautioned me not to get attached to any of them, as they were wormy, fleabitten, and starving. She brought the litter out to to a big wash sink with sort of a chrome rack over it - sort of like an oven rack. The little pups mostly ignored us and played with each other, but one little guy made his way over to the other side of the sink to see me, paws falling through the grille every couple steps. He finally made it, and that was it - he was the one. Hadn't planned on the name - I had something else in mind - but after surviving all he had survived, his name obviously had to be Lucky (also my favorite story as a toddler - Lucky Puppy/101 Dalmatians etc).
We couldn't take him home until he was de-wormed, de-fleaed, and up to date on his shots - that was the longest week I ever waited. He made it, though - and miraculously, all his littermates and sister survived AND found wonderful homes. We were best friends for 15 years - my folks even brought him to see me in college a few times. Nothing like getting a greeting from your four-legged pal in the lobby of a big dormitory!
The little guy has been gone for almost 10 years now, and there's still a big gaping hole in our hearts. It hasn't been the right time in my life to get another one - I wouldn't be able to take care of one properly yet - but I am hoping that we can get one soon - my daughter will be a wonderful caretaker.
Here we are on a road trip - I think we must be at my grandmother's house in this picture - my mom snapped a picture of us early in the morning while we were both still passed out asleep.
Here we are together when I was home from college - that big stuffed throw pillow was my Christmas present to him. It even had his name embroidered into it. Don't tell my folks but he got the most expensive present that year
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A couple hours after this photo was taken, I took him for a walk before bed. Coming back to the house, I slipped on some black ice underneath the deep snow and broke my leg in three places. That little guy knew something was wrong. He wasn't sure what do at first - he alternately stayed with me, whining and licking my face, then running to the door to call for help, and then back to me, etc... Finally he went to the door and barked his head off until my dad came out to help me get inside. I have never forgotten that moment
I miss that scruffy little mutt. He was a Good Boy.