Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Lori Friedman gave up her summer vacation to play foster mom to Lucy and her seven puppies.

Saratoga's Pet Network rescues family

By Sarah Lombardo

Los Gatan Lori Friedman should be vacationing in Nantucket right now. Instead, she's playing foster mom to a homeless mother and her seven babies, thanks to a call from the Saratoga-based Pet Network Rescue.

Friedman took in "Lucy the Mama Dog" and her seven tan and chocolate puppies shortly after Father's Day in June--and what Friedman thought would be an overnight obligation has turned into "the most rewarding thing I've ever done," she says.

At five weeks old, the puppies are nearing the time they will be ready for adoption. Lucy, full-grown but apparently young, will also need a home when her puppies are gone. "I just hope they go to loving homes," Friedman says. "I get teary-eyed thinking that someone won't love these adorable creatures."

Watching the seven puppies romp and cavort on Friedman's lawn, it's hard to imagine they were almost made orphans shortly after their birth, when police thought the protective Lucy was vicious and planned to shoot the dog. The intervention of the owner of the San Jose mobile home under which Lucy gave birth to her litter and the help of a representative from Pet Network saved Lucy from an untimely demise.

A few phone calls later, Friedman was a foster mom.

"It was Father's Day, and we were just heading out the door to go to San Francisco when I got this frantic call," Friedman recalls. It was Pet Network, and they asked Friedman if she'd be willing to house Lucy and her pups.

"I wasn't thinking," Friedman says while picking up a puppy with one hand and gently nudging another that has taken a liking to nibbling on her shoe. "I thought it would be overnight." A month later, Friedman's daily routine involves getting up at 5 a.m. to clean the kennel, almost round-the-clock supervision and several feedings throughout the day--Lucy was too malnourished herself to produce enough milk for her pups. The once hungry, vicious Lucy snarling defensively over her pups is now healthy, gentle, playful and constantly at Friedman's side--except when she snuck a drink out of Friedman's fish pond, a no-no easily remedied by a stern but quiet, "Lucy, no," from Friedman.

The puppies, too, are healthy, with round bellies and shiny coats that belie their humble beginnings in the world. The four females and three males have Rottweiler coloring, similar to Lucy's. And all but two of the seven have their mother's tiny dusting of white on the very tip of their tails--like a paintbrush barely dipped in paint. Their tiny ears also flop over like Lucy's and the size of their paws indicate that they will most likely be of medium build.

The canine addition to Friedman's family has caused the cancellation of summer travel plans, but Friedman says the puppies are worth it. Stroking a particularly roly-poly pup, Friedman holds him up and says, "Look at this face! Wouldn't you give up a summer for this face?"

But it has been Lucy's transition that Friedman says has brought her the most joy.

"It has been the most rewarding thing I've ever done," she says, scratching Lucy's ear. "Especially to see the mama dog, to see Lucy and how far she's come."

If you're interested in adopting Lucy or one of her puppies, or in making a cash or dog food donation, contact the Pet Network at 450-2452 for more information.

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