Lucas Klein
Here’s a video that my niece Sarah helped put together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElU6ASQQ9JM
My dog Lucas came to me from the Bide-a-Wee shelter in the spring of 1999. He was just a four-month-old puppy, but from the moment I met him, I fell in love. He seemed to know that we belonged together and over the years that bond was never broken.
As Lucas grew, he developed the traits that made him such a special dog. He was always very affectionate and even-tempered. Watching him play with other dogs, he seemed to have a real sense of fairness and decency. While Lucas liked playing with other dogs, he loved people even more. Walking down the street, if someone wanted to say hello, he would just stop and wait for them to come up and pet him. (This might have something to do with thinking they had a treat, but if they didn’t that was all right.) Lucas, usually listened to me, but he could get distracted. When we were in the dog- run and I needed to leave, all I had to do was yell ‘Lucas say goodbye, we have to go’ and only then would he would come bounding over as if to say to the other dogs ‘gotta go’.
Lucas loved water and he loved diving into our pond upstate and swimming around, chasing the stones I would throw near him. Afterward he would come out wet, tired but very happy. He also loved snow, especially when I would shovel our deck and throw the snow in his face as he jumped up to catch it.
Even though Lucas had arthritis from the age of three, he was always up for long walks whether it was the Appalachian Trail or Fire Island beaches, careful to make sure I was in sight before jumping into the Atlantic ocean or running into the woods. There was something about the joy he took in exploring that always brought a smile to my face
When in July 2004, I inherited Sam Krueger, Lucas took the little guy in his stride and I became a two dog household. They complimented each other, especially in their coloring and temperament. Whenever Sam would bark at a larger dog, Lucas would jump up and let him know it was not polite. Sam rarely got the message, but Lucas was very patient and loving with him.
In early fall 2008; Lucas developed a cancerous tumor on his foot, which made it increasingly difficult for him to move. So on January 30, 2009, at a hospital in upstate New York, Lucas passed away. He will be missed by a lot of people, but especially by his ‘brother’ Sam and I.
Again go to YouTube and enjoy some of my memories of Lucas
Love
Richard and Sam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElU6ASQQ9JM
