Lucky's Story
The Beginning by Teddi Bynum
Lucky didn’t figure into anybody's plans. Not the plans of the people who found him wandering along the highway one day and certainly not the plans of Desert Haven Animal Refuge. Desert Haven wasn't open to dogs yet. No kennels, no dog facilities at all.
The staff that day could easily have said no, and that would have been that. And who knows, maybe they would have if they had foreseen how Lucky would test Desert Haven's commitment to its guiding principle: no animal, once granted asylum, will ever be asked to leave.
He wasn't exactly a puppy when he turned up, but still a kid, a little boy. And for a long time he remained the only dog, an only child with the place to himself. We who cared for him, fed him, cleaned up after him and chatted with him, belonged to him alone. He didn't have to share so he didn't learn to.
But little by little the kennels were built and other dogs moved in. To us, they were refugees just like Lucky. To Lucky, they were trespassers.
It would be one thing if Lucky was, say, a Chihuahua, but he wasn’t. He was a Staffordshire Terrier, with the stature and gait of a pro linebacker and who-knows-how-many psi of jaw strength. His resentment towards most other dogs posed not just a nuisance, but a menace, a danger. And the measures necessary to prevent contact between him and every other dog on Desert Haven's five acres amounted to more than just an inconvenience; it amounts to…well, see for yourself.
Dogtown in bloom
He became the sole occupant of a respectable hunk of real estate, a wood fenced compound complete with a two-story condo. If the inward-sloping chicken wire trim atop the six-foot perimeter gives it that prison look, it's clearly a country club prison, earmarked for high-rolling white collar criminals.
Fort Lucky didn't go up right away. Some thought was given to alternatives. Like carting him off to a breed-specific refuge for Staffordshires in particular or "pitbulls" (often a misnomer) in general. They certainly exist, and there was every reason to believe that one could be found that would welcome Lucky. But the idea was considered just long enough to remind us how wrong it would be. To the other dogs who have come and gone, those who are here now and those who have yet to come, Desert Haven is a refuge. For Lucky, it was home.
The Middle
Reprinted from Humane News 2005 by Eliana Aubin
Lucky gives kisses to Eliana
"A happy, handsome and very well mannered young dog who loves to be around people, and especially to take them on long walks, Lucky will melt your heart. Lucky is indeed a charmer! When he is not surveying his domain at Desert Haven, at the side of a dog-walker, he spends his days watching over Dog Town from his comfortable loft at The Penthouse.
Larry & Mavis at The Penthouse
The Penthouse, Lucky’s official residence, was built specifically for him by several volunteers, including Teddi Bynum, Jack Sloan and Larry & Mavis Juniper. Until last year, Lucky shared the spacious residence and its surrounding courtyard with his puppyhood buddy, Tobi, who was later adopted out, leaving Lucky without a close canine friend.
Lucky still misses Teddi, the human friend with whom he shares a very strong bond. Teddi left some weeks ago, to teach English at a China university for the next couple of years. Lucky – the Deputy-Dawg of Dog Town - does not let his sadness over the absence of his closest human friend overcome him, or the fact that he can no longer enjoy the company of Tobi, his former canine companion. He knows that he is loved and well-cared for at Dog Town and he performs his duties as Deputy-Dog very well. After all, he was raised right there, and he knows just about every inch, every nook and cranny, every filled-in-hole, every bush and even perhaps every wild rabbit on the entire property.
As the canine residents of Dog Town are adopted out and leave, full of anticipation at the chance to build a new life with their adoptive person, Lucky bids them farewell from his loft. Of course, he too, would like to be adopted and share the rest of his life at the side of his very own person, but he also knows that his ancestry may be keeping him at Dog Town. Until he crosses the path of the one special individual who will fully recognize his wonderful qualities and be willing to meet his needs, Lucky has a loving home at Dog Town and he is happy. After all, Dog Town is his home since he was a small puppy, and he knows that he is Top Dawg in the heart of all the volunteers at Desert Haven.
When you come up the long driveway to visit Desert Haven on a Tuesday, look towards Dog Town, and you will surely see Lucky, The Deputy-Dawg of Dog Town, standing up on his loft, while watching your arrival, as he waves his tail in joyful anticipation."
The Ending Contributed by Stan
"Lucky was my friend.
I’ve volunteered at the Refuge for one year now, three days each week, and that’s how many times I saw, walked with, and played with Lucky. When I first started volunteering, I’d walk Lucky, and not do much else with him. Then, one day I was trying to put the leash on him to walk him, and he grabbed one end of the leash, and started playing tug-of-war with me. Well, from that point forward, I was careful with the leash, but I also started playing tug-of-war with him, using a more appropriate toy. Then I started coming in about 10 minutes earlier each morning, and as soon as he saw my car, he found the tug-of-war toy we were using, and started running and jumping back and forth in his pen, waiting for me to come in and play with him, which I did for most of the year I knew him.
After playing with him each day, I’d start scratching him in back of the ears, as well as on his body, and from time to time, he’d jump up and either lick my face or give me a “love nip” somewhere on my body. I feel he and I became close friends as the months rolled by. And then I noticed the lumps in his neck, which turned out to be symptoms of Lymphoma, which he died from about 2 months later. But that’s not the end of the story.
I went with Lucky to the Vet when he had to be put to sleep because he no longer could eat. When the Vet put the needle in him, he turned to me (I was kneeling by his side, scratching in back of his ears), licked my face, turned back to face forward, and died. I’ll never forget that. I have a small, framed picture of him in my home. He and I were great friends and I’ll always miss him."
Lucky - Deputy Dawg of Dogtown from 2003 - 2008
"He was ours and we were his, through thick and thin, for as long as it took. That’s how it works at Desert Haven."
