Don first met Lucky at the Dumb Friends League in 2022, a time when he was reeling from the tragic loss of two significant relationships – his wife of nearly 64 years in 2016 and, more recently, his beloved dog, Wilson. Feeling the need for a new companion in his life, Don came to the League and immediately fell in love with Lucky, a sweet but timid Labrador retriever who had recently arrived at our doors.
During their adoption consultation, Lucky was whimpering and pacing as her nerves overcame her. Rather than feeling dissuaded, Don was inspired to bring her home that very day. “I thought, I have to help her,” he said. After adoption day, it didn’t take long for Lucky to warm to Don, a veteran who bravely served his country in the mid-1950s. Undoubtedly, Don’s warm attentiveness to Lucky’s needs nurtured their close relationship and helped her thrive. According to Don,
For about two weeks, I laid on the davenport with her … and she’d get up and I’d get up with her and talk to her and hug her and all that. Now, she’s so content. I mean, it’s kind of breaking me down even thinking about how much she’s changed.
It turns out Lucky wasn’t the only one with transformation on the horizon. When Don speaks (nay gushes) about her, he often talks about how she has “filled his life” with purpose. Lucky, now free of the anxiety she exhibited in the shelter, accompanies Don to the grocery store and joins him when, as Don says, “us older people meet for coffee.” Having each other to lean on—in good times and bad—has made all the difference for this loving pair. “She’s the greatest thing I’ve had since my wife died,” said Don. “I wouldn’t take a million bucks for her, I know that.”
Without the support of people like you, Don and Lucky may have never found each other. Thank you for participating in the Dumb Friends League Furry Scurry and raising funds to support our mission.
