This is an ode to Lucy.

And to "M" and "J" who took her in. Some low-life dumped Lucy out in their neighborhood.

The saddest part about Lucy's story is we could tell no one cared about her before her arrival at M. and J.'s house.

No one cared enough to have her spayed.

No one cared enough to give her heartworm preventive.

No one cared enough to take her to a doctor and find out that she had hookworms and whipworms and get her appropriate treatment for those.

Lucy appeared to be a hunting dog, so we assume that she simply outlived her usefulness as a hunter and had to be disposed of. Or, maybe she no longer had the energy to hunt well because of heartworms, hookworms, whipworms and repeated pregnancies.

No one cared enough to take her to a pet doctor and have her humanely euthanized. Or even mercifully put a bullet in her head. But no one even cared that much.

Maybe they thought it was caring to drop her off in an upscale neighborhood. Fat lot of good that did, as they left her on one of the busiest thoroughfares on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and she got hit by a car before M. and J. could rescue her.

Sadly, her injuries were too severe to save her, and Lucy finally got the merciful relief she needed.

We can only hope that now, as she rests in peace, she has pleasant dreams of younger, happier times.

Please, if you can no longer care for your pet, take her to a humane shelter or adoption agency. Statistics show that more than 90 percent of dumped pets die of starvation. And a substantial portion of the remaining 10 percent suffer injuries from automobiles, most of which prove to be fatal.

Dumping is simply not the answer.

Surrendering unwanted pets to adoption agencies is the answer.

___

Dr. Jim Randolph is a veterinarian at Animal General Hospital in Long Beach. Questions for this column are encouraged. Write to South Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association, 20005 Pineville Road, Long Beach MS 39560 and include a self-addressed stamped envelope.