"Feeling Lucky"?
- Lucky's Petfinder page

"When I first saw her," says her foster mom, "I had never seen a dog so emaciated and sad. It was as if she stepped right out of the TV screen from an Animal Planet humane society rescue show.

The vet also found to be blind from cataracts secondary to diabetes.

Yet more than 11 weeks later, gentle Lucky has gained close to 10 pounds and looks much better. Her diabetes is almost under control, too.

"She has recently been groomed and her sparkling personality is shining through," adds her foster mom, the same woman who now fosters Peanut. "Her sweet face will melt your heart. She acts as the peacemaker or mommy dog when the foster siblings are misbehaving or acting goofy.

"She amazes me when she 'chases' after her foster brother when he's fetching a ball in the yard. She even plays tug-of-war with American bulldog Ivory, who pulls Lucky around the floor while holding onto the tug toy! She is not afraid of anything, not even the scary big dog next door (who is actually a wimp). She has a great appetite and gets only the best food and treats.

"Many others would have taken one look at her and (with reason) euthanized her, but Lucky deserves and is being given the best chance possible at a healthy happy life for whatever time she has left. A girl like Lucky proves just how amazing dogs are...they are survivors of the cruelest of fates and can teach us humans a lot about putting on a happy face!"

This 8-year-old Golden Retriever is up-to-date with routine shots, house-trained, heartworm-negative and spayed.

She requires one insulin injection a day and, after learning the layout, has no trouble navigating around the house and up and down stairs. She would do best in a home with no cats.

To help find Lucky a home, visit PAWSOhio.org and fill out an application.

-- Sandra M. Klepach, SKlepach@News-Herald.com