This is the cutest story EVER but really it just wrenches at my heartstrings because as much as I want to, there’s nothing in the world I can do to change it at this time. All I can do is just hope that Lucea and Hanover will still be in St Elizabeth when I get back there.
So on my last trip I was staying with friends in a housing scheme in Luana, St Elizabeth. My girlfriend and I would be staying there for the first eleven days of my three weeks on the island. Her and I are perpetual veranda dwellers morning, noon and night so we were like the nosey neighbors who quickly knew all the happenings in the neighborhood. But in this neighborhood the happenings were mostly just cow and goat herds wandering down the side streets, with the occasional pack of dogs frolicking around. Luana is a very quiet community.
One day in the empty lot beside our house we saw a friendly looking dog checking us out so we tried calling her over. She wouldn’t come near us but she looked like she desperately wanted to! Her eyes were so full of hope and her tail wagged like crazy but she wouldn’t come within ten feet of us. She did creep past the fence into the yard but all she would do is sit, look at us and wag her tail.
I think this photo is the first or second day we met her. She sat in the rain just looking at us and desperately wanting to come say hello….but she wouldn’t.
After it became apparent that she was going to come visit us every day we came up with a plan. We also named her Lucy which morphed into Lucea – the name of a town in the parish of Hanover – and later in the story I’ll tell you why the name change.
We had a couple loaves of bread in the fridge so we figured we would try to lure her with food. The first time we tried she struggled SO bad to inch towards us but she just wouldn’t come so we threw pieces of bread out for her and left it at that. To our surprise, the next day she was back and even though she struggled severely with it she actually came up to my hand and took a piece of bread right from my fingers! From that point it was magic! She was fearful for the next couple days but she suddenly had no problem taking food from our hands.
The most gratifying moment for us was the first time we went out to the veranda and Lucea was comfortably sleeping in the yard…..finally.
As a reward, one night when we came home from a jerk center we brought her all the fat trimmings from our jerk pork and she feasted! That sealed the deal because from that point on Lucea actually laid in the middle of the road beside the house every time we were gone and jumped up to greet us when we would return. She knew our car, she slept under our car in the daytime and she happily greeted us at the car door any time we drove up. One night we were standing in the middle of the road waiting on a friend to stop by and she loyally sat at our feet waiting with us.
Now about her name change. Originally when we named her Lucy we were just thinking of the female name Lucy….until she started bringing her boyfriend over lol. He looked identical to her – the only difference is that they had opposite cocked ears. It was our Jamaican friend who lived in the house that decided if one was named Lucy the other should be named Hanover. If you don’t know, Lucea is a town in the parish of Hanover in Jamaica.
So now we had two dogs.
Hanover, the second dog never did become loyal to us. He always remained timid. Although he would show up for food occasionally, he wouldn’t take it from our hands or allow us to pet him. But he never came around as much as Lucea did. Lucea was ours to the core now.
After eleven days my girlfriend and I left to the north coast for a week and I had plans to return to the south coast alone after that time. I wouldn’t be staying at this house when I came back but I would definitely be going to visit. Well can you imagine that the first time I went back (after 6 days!) Lucea still spotted my car and came running to see me when I arrived. I had a cheese bun in my car so I gave it to her.
Here’s the heart wrenching part of my story though. I only had 4 days left on the island and wasn’t staying at this house for the rest of my time. The last time I stopped in to visit my friend and his kids of course Lucea was around and I fed her. Well when it came time for me to drive away she followed…..no, she chased my car ALL through the neighborhood streets and right to the main highway. I actually had to roll down my window and yell at her to go home because I didn’t want her coming out onto the main road.
I almost cried because I knew this would be the last time I saw her and it was like she knew that too. The thought brings tears to my eyes right now.
Since returning home……
I sent a text message to my friend who lives at the house a few weeks after I returned home and asked him how Lucea was doing. He told me that his kids know the dog is mine now so they are looking after her. My heart melted! I’m so happy that Lucea is happy. He also told me that Lucea has stolen several things from the yard such as kids flip flops and his own soccer socks. LOL it made me secretly laugh with satisfaction. Lucea has a mischievous personality just like me!
My future plan
I’m trying to get some business stuff up and running so if I get stationed back in Jamaica long term again I plan to go into Luana in the dark, wearing a ski mask and steal Lucea away. She and I are kindred spirits just like my old dog in Steertown who passed away last year. He was the funniest dude ever and it seems that Lucea is filling his doggy shoes quite nicely!
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