Lucy's Joy

From scrawny stray to the smiliest dog in the world.

Whilst we were living in South Africa, I had a call from the legendary Cora Bailey, founder of CLAW (Community Led Animal Welfare). CLAW was bursting at the seams and they urgently needed foster homes. I agreed to take on two dogs, a very scrawny border collie mix who had been found straying, half starved, in an informal settlement in Soweto, and a rather rotund little Jack Russel mix aptly named Tubby who had been undergoing treatment at CLAW for some very nasty chemical burns. The border collie mix seemed a rather non-descript young thing, very ribby, her coat dull and thin. I was utterly unprepared the striking beauty who emerged over the following fortnight. She filled out, her coat became lush and shiny, but most of all, she just exuded pure joy out of every pore of her being. We named her Lucy.