Meet Lucas, our mascot.

We first met Lucas January 31st, of this year. The Richland County Dog Warden's told us about a call they had received regarding a stray dog. They went to the complaintent's house and found Lucas frozen to a chair on the front porch. They informed us that he was one of the thinnest dogs they had ever seen that was still alive. They also said that he was very friendly and really liked being around people. This is what Lucas looked like when we first saw him. He weighed in at a mere 14lbs, and was about 10 months old. He easily should have been about 3 times that size at that age.






After his three day stay at the RCDW office, which is mandatory for all strays, we brought Lucas to our shelter. He had the equivalent of bed sores on his hips from being so thin and his bones rubbing on his skin. He had numerous scars, scratches and cuts on his face, head and ears. He was dehydrated and still thin (although he had gained 5 lbs during his stay at the RCDW), but he was so happy to be around people.


We put him on puppy food, four small meals a day. Within three weeks, he gained 30lbs and a whole heap of energy to go with it. We kept him in our laundry room, and he loved nothing more than to lay in a basket of towels fresh from the dryer. He hated us taking his towels from him. He was smart, he was rotten, he was adorable...we were in love.




Fast forward to the present, Lucas is wonderful. He now weighs almost 60lbs. He's been through obedience training where he received an almost perfect score. He's been neutered, vaccinated and heartworm tested. He goes to all events that we can take him to, and has visited numerous schools and daycares. He loves people of all ages and other dogs and cats as well. He currently plays with Luca, our other pit bull during the day when he's not out visiting. He is a perfect example of how resilent dogs really are. He was starved, frozen and probably 24 hours from death. Through it all, he never lost his love or trust of people. He's our happily ever after. He will be staying at the shelter or with a foster mom until his forever home is found, but he will make someone a very lucky person once they take him home.