Lucy doesn't like thunder.

Monday night we had a thunderstorm.  It kicked in full force around 3:00am.  How do I know this?  Because its about the same time I also discovered Lucy does not like thunder.  Not even a little.  I believe she was experiencing a panic attack.  Her anxiety level was sky high.  She kept running to all of our bedrooms to check on us.  It was a continual circle running from Ian's room to me/Jeff's room to Samantha's room.  She'd jump on the bed, get close to our face, make sure we were ok, and then run to the next room.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  It was an especially amazing display given that Sam's bedroom door was fully closed.  I am still not sure how she managed to open it.

At first I thought Lucy had to go to the bathroom and was trying to get our attention.  It was when I opened the back door and motioned for her to go out, she froze in place.  No way, no sir, she wasn't stepping foot outside.  So I walked out on our deck and told her to come.  She still wouldn't budge.  I quickly figured out the thunder was frightening her.

We went back upstairs and she crawled in bed with me.  Yes, Jeff was there too, but he was mostly asleep.  Lucy was panting so hard and she was too excited to lay still.  She had an important job to do and had to keep checking on all of us to make sure we were ok.  I closed Ian and Sam's door and held her tightly until she was finally able to settle down and go back to sleep.

Aw, my sweet dog.  Just when I think I can't love her any more than I do, she goes and has a reason to really need us.  Who knows how traumatized she'd be if she was still living in a shelter or with a person who didn't take the time to comfort her and work thru her issues in the middle of the night?

I feel we are lucky ones who get to take care of her.  I've lost a good night of sleep before for much less worthy reasons.  We love Lucy.