How our dog charity, ‘Lucky Lou-Lou saves lives’ began.
saving lucky
On February 6th 2019 we found this little dog on a beach in Antigua, She was in a dreadful state.
I turned to my husband, Paul and said “I can’t walk past this one”.
Unfortunately the island is renowned for stray dogs, it continues to be a big problem. The dog was in obvious distress, she was emaciated, had horrendous mange and her skin was red raw and inflamed due to sunburn. She had skin infections around her ears and down her back. She must have felt like she was on fire, curled up in a ball, looking so pitiful. The sadness in her eyes was so apparent, we just had to help her.
I can’t walk past this one
Luckily we had made friends with a local guy, Tony. Two days later Tony would prove to be an absolute godsend.
We tried to entice the dog, she was to be known as ‘Lucky’ to be brave enough to come near us with little scraps of food from our breakfast table. We had no lead, only a piece of string so when a lady walked passed offering us her towel to wrap Lucky in, it was just perfect timing.
We scooped Lucky up surprisingly with no resistance and she sat on Paul’s lap in the passenger seat of Tony’s car, looking just so weak.
Tony drove carefully to St John’s, The capital of Antigua and Barbuda. We pulled up outside ’The Arc’ Veterinary Surgery and I was astounded to be introduced to a wonderful vet called Fiona, originally from Watford, UK.
Lucky was examined and Fiona calmly gave us choices to which we had some very quick decision making to do. We agreed on the spot to take Lucky on and it seemed in no time at all we’d left Lucky in the safe hands of Fiona and her staff at The Arc Veterinary Centre.
We popped in to see her the next day and then after that, we weren’t going to see her again until she’d landed at Gatwick Airport.
It was a long wait but so well worth it. Not the easiest thing we’ve ever done but certainly one of the best things.
Lucky certainly was very Lucky.
She now lives with us and our other two dogs.
She is still extremely nervous of people she doesn’t know. She obviously went through hell on the island of Antigua, she had been beaten and had all number of things thrown at her, as she gets flash backs daily, and often cowers if we drop anything or when we simply want to fill her water bowl up, bless her.
Lucky certainly was very Lucky
Fiona, the wonderful vet at ‘The Arc’ works tirelessly helping street dogs on a voluntary basis every week. We want to support her amazing work as much as we can, so other dogs like Lucky have a fighting chance of having a healthier life, these is why we have set up our Facebook page where anyone can donate.
Please go to ‘Lucky Lou-Lou Saves Lives!!!’ to support this incredibly important cause.
Much love Lucky and her family xx
