Lucy is an extremely social and friendly dog, she enjoys being around people and especially around her beloved members of her family. However Lucy and her brother needed a while to find their rhythm together.
“My son is 5 years old and is nonverbal,” Miranda Peterson, Lucy’s mom, told The Dodo. “He has autism spectrum disorder and was officially diagnosed a few months after we got Lucy. He did NOT like her for the first year of her life. I think it was too much of a change for him, and he didn’t like her being in his personal space.”
Lucy could sense that her brother needed some time to get close to her, and she did an incredible job by giving him all the space he needed. They then found the activity which helped them bond together.
“A few months ago, my husband started to take our son on a daily walk after he finished his workday,” Peterson said. “My son LOVES being outdoors so he thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband brought Lucy along as well, and then it just became an everyday thing. No matter the weather, the three of them go on a walk. The daily outing helped my son bond with Lucy, so now he loves playing fetch with her, pouring her food in her bowl every day and occasionally he’ll go and pet her.”
Lucy loved being outside and wait the school-bus with her little brother, this also helped their reletionship get better. One day waiting for the bus, Lucy was able to meet the bus driver.
“One day she ran inside the bus to follow her brother, and that’s when she officially met the bus driver,” Peterson said. “Then every day he would come down a few steps from the bus for Lucy to go greet him.”
The bus driver admitted that he is a huge Pitbull lover. So this became Lucy’s favourite part of the day, making sure that her beloved brother is going and coming back safe. Every single morning she would go outside with her brother , wait for the bus and then say hallo to her favourite bus driver. When it was about time that the little boy would come from school, she would again run outside , wait for the boy and say hallo to the bus driver.
“She is like a little alarm clock and lets me know when the bus is outside,” Peterson said. “She immediately starts whining and waits by the door. I always ask her to wait (because manners) until the bus driver helps my son get off, and as soon as I say, ‘OK,’ she runs to him for a quick pet then runs back to me as if she’s telling me, ‘Mom! He’s here! It’s really him!’ Then she goes back for longer pets.”