Lucci' Unleashed

Lucci’ Unleashed

Lucci’ Ano’ Barker is a 4-year-old Maltese Mix. Some people have said he looks like a Maltipoo, and others have said Maltese/Dachshund. Nevertheless, he has a way of reaching into your eyes and capturing your soul. But, at least for me, when I saw him, it was love at first sight from the first day. Although my words said NO, he is going back, my actions said, “look at my new little boy.”

The first time I laid eyes on Lucci’ Reggie was playing a trick on me. Reggie owned a mobile detail business and had been at work all day. He came in that evening, and while placing his equipment in the hall, he made the statement that something was wrong with the steamer. Then, in exasperation, I walked over to see what was wrong this time with his equipment. When I arrived in the hall, I saw this little ball of fur just sitting there looking up at me. I immediately threw up my hands and said, “No, No, No, he is going back where ever you got him from.” I walked back over to the couch, exclaiming that a dog is a baby that never grows up!” In a stern voice, I ask “who is going to take care of him, who is going to walk him, feed him, clean up after him, groom him, NOT ME,” I yelled. “I will,” Reggie said with a straight face as I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

Knowing that time would make me change my mind, Reggie said he couldn’t take him back until Monday when the family he got him from would be back in town. So he brought Lucci’ over and placed him on the couch. Still, in a state of denial, I flicked on the TV and refused to look or acknowledge Lucci’. Then, after about 10 minutes, Lucci’ walked over and licked my hand. All the ice around my heart melted. Looking down was this small, bright-eyed little puppy wagging his tall with what seemed like a smile on his tiny face.

After I picked him up, what was once a desire to send him back became a need to ensure he was okay. I started spouting off questions to Reggie, “how old is this puppy? what type of puppy is this? does this puppy have its shots?” Reggie just looked at me with confusion. “Do you know the answer to any of these questions? I asked Reggie,” I knew Reggie more than likely would not know the answer to the question. To my dismay, he said, “he is 3 weeks old.” Then, with a look of horror, I immediately started explaining that you can not take a puppy away from their mother that young. He looked dumbfounded as he asked me what we should do. After creating a list of items for Reggie to get from the store, I knew at that point Lucci’ had become a part of our family.

During his initial training phase, we had misses and hits. For the most part, he would stay next to us except when he saw the dog park. One day Reggie took him for a walk, and they stopped at a bench. Reggie sat down to wait for Lucci’ to potty. To his surprise, he looked up and could not find Lucci’. Knowing that he could not come home without Lucci’ in a panic, he began to search. After searching for a few minutes, Reggie saw Lucci’ playing in the dog park. When he made it across the street, he saw a couple in the park. The man explained to Reggie that Lucci’ was sitting there when they got to the gate, so they let him in because they figured he belonged to someone and that his owners were somewhere near. Although Lucci’ is better trained, we still pay closer attention when we are near the park.

We live in Downtown Dallas, Texas, where the streets are typically 90% abandoned Monday thru Wednesday to our delight. During 2019, Reggie would also charge scooters at night, and most weeks, we would help him as a family. Since there was little to no traffic on the streets at 3 in the morning and Lucci’ was trained to stay by us, we would let him out without a leash. Lucci’ has a weird fascination with running as fast as he can for as long as he can. So, before the pandemic, Reggie would take Lucci’ with him to gather the scooters and bring them back to the truck. Each time they would leave and come back, it was like watching speed racer. Reggie would come flying down the street on a scooter, and Lucci’ fast on his heels.

Our most memorable unleashed moment with Lucci’ was one windy night. We were expecting Reggie and Lucci’ to come around the corning flying, but instead, Reggie was running next to the scooter, and Lucci’ was riding with the wind blowing in his face. Immediately we ask what happen? Reggie said he was on the scooter and looked back, and Lucci’ was sitting on a bench. So he figured that Lucci’ was tired of running and thought he would give him a ride back. We were laughing so hard that tears were streaming down our faces. Remember, Lucci’ loves to run as fast as he can for as long as he can, and we guess he could not run anymore, lol.