Virginia Beach with Lucy

When we rescued Lucy from the shelter at the end of September, we decided to make her an Emotional Support Therapy dog.  We have a wonderful letter from Samantha's therapist convincing anyone reading it why it is necessary for Lucy to be with us.  We also have seen first hand the wonderful effect Lucy has on Samantha and do believe she does a great job taming Sam's emotional outbursts.

During Spring Break we decided to do a quick overnight trip to Virginia Beach and bring Lucy with us.  Why not?  There is a first for everything. 

Having Lucy with us for the trip was going to be either a disaster or amazing.  There was no middle ground.  We were exposing Lucy to so many things where typically a dog is not expected and we had no idea how she was going to react.  I truly believed that Lucy would be an absolute angel if she had the ability to be with us wherever we went. This was put to the test and then some.  We took Lucy to a hotel, multiple restaurants, the beach, a dolphin watching boat tour, and generally walking around and in the shops.  I can't forget to mention we even attempted a surrey ride with Lucy riding in the basket up front. Additionally, she endured the car ride on back to back days, with the drive back home a full 2 hours longer than it should be because of traffic.

I am delighted to report that Lucy was PHENOMENAL!  She was so well behaved and acted like she has always been a service dog. Even Jeff found himself praising Lucy for her stellar behavior and said she was the best behaved all of us.  It was hard to not complain on the drive back when we were sitting in major traffic.  And it was hard to not complain when we were rocking back and forth big-time on that 90 minute boat ride.  Did we hear any complaints from Lucy on either of these?  Nope!  Not a single peep.  She went along for the ride and was happy to be included on the fun.

Lucy got lots of compliments from those who saw her in action.  Everyone asked if it was ok to pet her.  Of course!  She loves people.  She brought a smile to many at all the places we went.   One gentleman looked at her and said, "Thank you for your service."   :)

Our family felt complete with all of us together.  It was our first time visiting Virginia Beach and it is nice to know we can return. 

She is posing for the camera!

Look at her smile!! 

Hanging at the restaurant during lunch.

Watching the sunrise!