Lucy the Border Collie Collie & Spaniel Mix Seattle, WA

Are you in search of a friendly, energetic companion to go on adventures with you? Meet Lucy!

Lucy is currently in a foster home in the Tacoma, Washington area. To apply, please fill out an application at www.doggedly.org/adoption-app

Lucy is a beautiful, 40lb Border Collie mix with a beautiful, silky black coat and piercing golden eyes. This stunning girl is very young, estimated to be around 1 year old and has a lot of love to give! Sadly, Lucy was found as a stray and ended up in a high kill shelter pregnant. The stress of the shelter caused Lucy to go into labor and she gave birth to 5 beautiful puppies in the shelter clinic. Due to Lucy's young age, we believe that she became pregnant during her very
first heat cycle, ultimately setting up her newborn puppies for a rough life. Luckily for Lucy, she was pulled by Doggedly within a day of giving birth and placed with an experienced foster home to nurse her newborn babies. Sadly Lucy lost all but 2 of her puppies at only a week old. The last two pups were moved to a foster, so Lucy could have time to heal from the traumatic event of losing her first litter. Since then, this magnificent young pup has been enjoying the spoiled life in her foster home, attending doggy daycare daily and learning how to politely interact with people and other dogs.

This beautiful dog is looking for a home with very specific requirements. Don't let her adorable face, silken shaggy coat and spotted paws fool you. Lucy is a high energy herding breed with the intensity and drive to work that she was bred for. Lucy is more than just a beautiful face, but also a dog with boundless energy and high intelligence that makes her a fit for only the most dedicated owner with breed experience.

Lucy will require plenty of training and exercise facilitated by an experienced owner who understands the needs and drive of Spaniels. Lucy was born to WORK and is a sponge when it comes to learning and recall. Lucy is very alert in the presence of birds, squirrels and outdoor cats. It is in her nature to chase as a flushing breed, which were originally bred to "flush" fowl out of tall grasses for hunters. When Lucy is in "the zone" working, this intelligent pup is very focused on her handler, but does require a high level of dedication and consistency to her training.

She is a dream dog for the breed enthusiast who is very active and enjoys the great outdoors. Like most smart dogs, Lucy has her moments where she can be stubborn that will require time and consistency to remedy since she is very young. Although active and friendly, there are moments where Lucy lacks confidence, especially in meeting new people and may submissively roll on her back and urinate. This can easily be worked on by building a trusting relationship with her handler through training and repetition.

Lucy requires strong leadership and basic training. Later on, adding agility training or some kind of high activity training that enables her to work, would be beneficial for her. Lucy loves other dogs would thrive in a home with one or more friendly, nonreactive dogs with matched energy and playstyle. The ideal home for Lucy is very active and structured with plenty of opportunities to play and work. Lucy is very people oriented and wonderful around children. Lucy is highly affectionate and responds well to praise, which is one of her main motivators, as a total people pleasing love bug.

During play mode, Lucy loves to chase tennis balls in the grass. She is tennis ball obsessed and doesn't mind sharing her toys or chasing balls with other dogs. Lucy is highly toy and food motivated, walks well on leash, and is kennel trained although she does not love to be kenneled at night. Despite her protest to be kenneled, Lucy would do best in a home that would kennel her to give her the chance to rest and relax, as her busy brain would keep her active 24/7 if she allowed. Although, in her current foster home, Lucy loves to lay and snuggle with the resident Spaniel mix dog in her home. She is friendly with the submissive pug and has been very gentle with a sweet chihuahua. However, Lucy does not do well with reactive dogs, which scare her and illicit a reaction in return. This is something Lucy's current foster is working on, and should continue to be worked on in her new home.

Lucy is spayed, microchipped, heartworm negative and fully vaccinated. All this beautiful girl needs is YOU!