I got Lucky when I was five years old. My dad was looking for a puppy for me and was taking his time to find the perfect one and a nieghbor told him he had several puppies and that they would be going to the pound if they were not taken. My dad decided to go meet the pups and if nothing else try to find them other homes so that they would not be destroyed. When he saw them he said he thought they looked cool and spent a little time there playing with them. Most of them were very excited and rambuncious, but over in the corner of the fenced in area they lived in was one single pup laying by himself. He noticed right away that he had bright eyes and a cool deminer but the owner said that that one was sick and that the mother and the others had disowned it and that he spent much of his time alone. The more my dad became interested in him the more the owner stressed that he was not a good pick especialy since he was for a child and he feared that it would not make it and that I would be heartbroken. My dad said he talked to the pup and he seemed to pay close attention and knew he was being talked to. After a good while my dad eased his way over to him and the pup looked at him with an attitude like saying "what do you want". Without a tail wag or ears popping the dog just stared at him so my dad bent down and put out his hand and said "hey there buddy. Give me five" and he did. He then patted him on the head and the pup then started to wag his tail and lick his chops and seemed to sneze a bit almost as if he was allergic to love or had just been so long without any. All the while my dad had the other pups yiping at him and climbing on him and had no choise but to egnore them. He asked the owner when he was getting rid of them and the man said he had several people comming to look at them and then at the end of the weekend he was taking them in. I was gone for the weekend so he did not want to make a decision without me there, but as he was talking to the man he had stepped a few feet away from the lonely pup but when he was trying to decide what to do, either let someone else posibly take him or should he take the chance that I would love him and not be disapointed that I did not get to pick him out, he looked down and the little guy had moved from his spot where the man said he hardly ever left and was now laying right beside my dads foot. Not on his foot. Not begging for attention. Just simply laying there as cool as he was before. My dad told the man he was going to go to the truck and think about it for a minute and the man said ok. The man went about his buisness and my dad went to his truck and when he turned around he found that he was right the little guy was stuck to him. As he looked down at him the pup again didnt beg for his attention, he jsut stood there. As if he could feel my dad staring at him he looked up at him as if to say "So what now?" My dad bent down and said you are a lucky dog and he picked the pup up and he again began to sneze lightly from the attention. The man was just a little ways away shaking his head suprised that the pup had moved and acted like he did. He heard what my dad said to the puppy and he walked over and asked "So you gonna take em?" My dad said " I think so" as he placed the puppy back on the ground and he explained to the man that if he goes running back to the kennle with the others then he would wait for me to see him and decide then, but if he stayed right there that he would take a walk down the street a ways and if the dog stuck by him that he would not leave him and that it would be a done deal. The man shook his head a bit and said "ok" After a minute the pup had not left his side but was looking back at the kennle where his mother and the other pups were and appeared a little more sad then he had been when my dad first arived as if he knew this was good bye. Again the man went back to his yard work and my dad started out down the road with a little fuzzy guy right beside him as if he had been trained. By this time the other pups seemed to have forgoten all about my dad and the pup and paid no mind. When they made it to the corner they started back and as they approched the truck again the man just laughed and said " I don't belive it." My dad told him he would keep in touch with him over the weekend to see if the others were taken and in the meanwhile he would try to help find them homes. While they talked my dad was giving the puppy one last chance to return to the others and he did not but he did look at them longingly. As he took a couple steps tword the truck and opened the door the pup had jumped up from his seated position to follow. He said the pup looked up at him and tiped his head sideways as if he knew that my dad was leaving. My dad bent down to pick him up saying "Come on lucky dog." He placed him on the seat and told the man goodbye. I now had a puppy and my dad had a case of nervousness hoping that I would approve.
    The whole rest of the weekend the pup went everywhere my dad went. Never yiped. Never whined. He was just as cool as the moment my dad had found him. When I got home late sunday evening my dad told me to go put my stuff away in my room. When I went into my room, I set my stuff on the shelf and placed my overnight bag behind my door. I went to walk toward my bed and thats when I saw the pup laying there silent wagging his tail. As you can emagine, I was hysterical with excitement. I picked him up and put him on my bed where I could get a better look at him and sit with him. He must have been really excited too because I guess for the first time he started to play and roll on his back playfully biting at my hands and even barked. I picked him up and went to run back downstairs to see my dad and he was right there in my doorway watching and I guess pleased that I had already acepted the pup. We went downstairs and I told my dad that he looked just like a dog on tv and his name was lucky. My dad started laughing and explained that he had intended to allow me to pick my own puppy and that we could find him another home if I wanted. Yeah right! He told me about why he took him without me there and he told me the whole story. He told me that he already felt a little ill about picking him out for me and he deffinately didn't want to name him for me but he told me he had been calling him lucky dog all weekend. I said "Well that does it. Thats his name and he is lucky to have me and I'm luck to have him."
    To this day Lucky has his favorite spots and is just as cool as the first day. Most of his brothers and sisters were taken in by families. We do not know where they are today or their stories but we know Lucky is safe and sound and is very appriciative to be here. He is still like a puppy in many ways though he is getting up there in dog years. In many ways he acts quite human as well. I still remember that first night in my room where I fell in love with him imediately and I also remember his first reaction to me since I was just a little guy myself he was pretty suprised. It was almost as if he knew all along he was waiting for his real master to arrive though he and my dad had grown very close aready. He seemed to realize right away that I was kindred and was quite pleased and the battle was on. We play fought all the time and he was always right by my side.
    It is really strange though that when he and my dad spend time together playing or laying watching tv that he seems to remember who first found him and realizes that he was saved that day. He recognizes me as his owner and master but he and my dad still have a unique bond. It is as if he and my dad are old freinds and he helps to look after me especialy when I was young. We don't treat Lucky like a dog but more like an individual and he has always seemed gratefull. It is really strange though, he has accepted this as his home and is happy here, you can still see him wait for permission to return into the home. It is as if he does not want to take for granted that this is place forever and it is as if he feels he has to continue to earn his way. He will look at us when it is time to come in like saying "Well, should I come in or no?" It is like if we gave him the signal to go away he would ecept it and move on. So weather it is just his nature or the treatment he recived when he was young, in many ways he is still a loner. With all my rabits and hamster and birds he just assumes the position of their caretaker trying to be usefull so we will keep him around. He is like a big brother to them all. He pets my rabits and plays with them and watches them when they are loose in the yard. He lets the birds ride on his back and he lays right near the hamster cage allot. He loves to watch them play. When I first got the hamsters he was very happy as if we bought them for him and would sleep right underneath their cage and was always worried about them. He will always walk with me and oversee me feeding each one of the pets as if it is his chore to do.
    Just for giggles my dad and I take him out hunting every so often though he is not the hunting type dog he is very good at it. He knew right away the first time that he was there to find animals and he loved it. I don't think he understands the whole hunting thing though because he is not one to harm anything. He just wants to find the animals and would probably pet them if they would stay put. I raise malard ducks that I get from the farm markets and when they are old enough they fly off and in the mean time he helps to care for them. The first one was named peeps. Lucky acualy allowed him to sleep in the hay in his dog house and would crawl in with him after a while. At first I think he just gave his house up to him and was scared to get in there that he might hurt the duckling.
    He never got to have puppies of his own so we are thinking of getting him a puppy for his birthday. We don't know exactly when that is so each year Lucky and I celebrate our birthdays together on mine. So mabey this next birthday we will both get a little lap type puppy for a present. It will be a joy to see his reactions when that day come. He never gets gellous of any of the pets. Like I said he is part human plus he seems to set himself aside as somewhat of an observer of life so he will just appriceate the one more thing to observe. He will not feel like his spot is being taken and it is quite sad in a way because it is like he does not feel he has a spot he is just here and appriciates it very much. Maybe that isn't so bad of a way to be but he does belong, he will always belong.