Lucy the bloodhound passed away in April, not long after she celebrated her 13th birthday. But her image still adorns the van Dr. Mark Colicchio drives as a mobile veterinarian. Photos of her standing in the Battle House lobby advertise that the posh downtown Mobile hotel welcomes dogs. She was also the face of Save a Stray, the nonprofit founded by Stephanie Eads-Williamson and Dr. Jeni Knizley.

She lives on in another way, as well. Save a Stray is holding a fundraiser in her honor, with a couple of matching gifts intended to make donations go further toward its efforts to spay and neuter pets.

Williamson still tears up when Lucy’s name is mentioned. She started out as Lucy’s foster mom and ended up keeping her because Lucy – a stubborn 80-pound hound with long ears and warm brown eyes who pretty much always got what she wanted – chose the Williamson home as her own.

To say that Williamson, president of Save a Stray, and her husband of nearly 30 years, Garrett, are dog-friendly is an understatement. The Williamsons are DINKS, Garrett explains – dual income, no kids – so their dogs are truly family. Everything about their house, which even sits on, of course, Dog River in Mobile, is designed for dogs’ comfort and easy cleanup for humans, from the tile floors to the water spigots that dispense water right into bowls.

Animal rescue is “what I was put on Earth to do,” Stephanie says. Her foster-based organization lists dogs locally and transports them to seven Northern states every other week. Recently Save a Stray has shifted its focus to spay and neuter, with a goal of helping with 90 surgeries per month.

Of all the dogs the Williamsons have known and loved over the years, Lucy was “the biggest character,” says Garrett, who often brought her with him to work at Personal Edge Fitness. “She touched more lives than any. Lucy was incredible at reading people.”

Lucy, wearing her double strand of pearls, greets children at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church in Mobile. (Garrett Williamson)

No one knows where Lucy came from, or how she ended up inside a Walmart Supercenter in west Mobile when she was about a year-and-a-half old. Someone had taken care of her; she’d been spayed and had undergone hip surgery, leaving her with a slight limp.

She was taken to the city animal shelter, where she was “not doing well, not eating,” Stephanie says. But when Stephanie brought Lucy home as a foster, the dog seemed happy and content. “We adopted her out three times, and she was returned three times.” Each time, Lucy would intentionally misbehave – even though the homes seemed perfect for her. Apparently, Lucy had decided that Stephanie was her mom, and that was that.

“Lucy made all her own decisions,” says Garrett.

Not long after they officially adopted her, they took her on a trip where she followed her nose off a 20-foot cliff. It’s a long story that involved a freezing night Garrett and his brother-in-law spent with her in a canyon next to a fire before floating a canoe to take her to a vet in Birmingham. For a month after that, as she recovered, Stephanie slept on the floor with her.

“But she was worth it,” says Garrett. “We learned what a character she is.”

Meanwhile, Lucy learned the meaning of unconditional love from her new humans. She now had this couple wrapped around her large paw, and she would never leave them again. She learned how to nudge them toward anywhere she wanted to be – especially if it was in the direction of someone she suspected needed her canine compassion.

‘There was something special about Lucy’

“She was a big dog with a big personality,” Stephanie says. “When we had her out, she drew attention.”

Lucy loved to be among people. She served as a greeter at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church‘s PAWS for Compassion pet ministry on the second Sunday of each month, while wearing a set of pearls around her neck.

Lucy and Stephanie also were trained to volunteer in the pet therapy program at Mobile Infirmary, where they visited patients on Wednesdays. “She could tell if somebody needed her,” says Garrett. “In the hospital, there were patients who hadn’t responded to anyone but would respond to Lucy.”

“Patients did better the day Lucy visited and the day after,” Stephanie says. “There was something special about Lucy.”

After leaving the hospital, Stephanie would take Lucy to Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream Shoppe for one of her favorite treats, a vanilla ice cream cone.

After volunteering as a therapy dog at Mobile Infirmary, Lucy enjoyed an ice cream cone from Cammie’s Old Dutch in Mobile. (Garrett Williamson)

As much as she enjoyed meeting new people, she also loved to be at home, lounging on a leather sofa, going for boat rides and hanging out with furry friends. “The transports were Lucy’s toys,” Garrett remembers. “She would have a field day playing.”

She did get into occasional mischief, sometimes wading into the water and coming to the door wearing muddy “boots,” or venturing to friendly neighbors’ houses for her other favorite treats of bacon or hot dogs.

Because of her “incredible nose,” Lucy was “on call for three hunting camps if they lost a deer,” Garrett says.

In 2017, Lucy joined her parents and her four dog siblings on a road trip to Star Valley, Wyoming, a journey that became a family tradition every spring. The Williamsons documented their travels on their YouTube channel, “5 dogs and 2 humans.” In each episode, the couple would pile into the front seat of their Ford Expedition, their dogs visible behind them, reading a script Garrett wrote about that day’s adventures, which they called “Happy Tails Too.”

“Half the fun was getting there,” Garrett says. Stephanie would research dog-friendly places to visit along the route, from restaurants to hotels to dog parks. On those annual trips, Lucy saw 19 states.

Stephanie and Garrett Williamson and their five dogs pose for a family portrait during one of their annual visits to Star Valley, Wyoming. (BabyDoll Photography 307)

She also had her own Facebook page, “Where’s Lucy now?” “As much of a character as she was, she needed to be shared,” Garrett says.

Toward the end of her life, when Lucy was diagnosed with cancer, Stephanie “talked to no less than seven vets,” Garrett says.

“It was the worst prognosis we could get,” Stephanie adds – hemangiosarcoma.

Lucy started chemotherapy and had her spleen removed. Soon, she stopped eating and couldn’t seem to get comfortable.

“I’ve always told people that the last act of kindness you can show your dog is to let them go peacefully,” says Stephanie, wiping her eyes.

“Once again, Lucy made that decision,” Garrett says. “She made the decision it was time to go.”

For now, there are two people and four dogs in the Williamson household. Stephanie and Garrett are waiting for the next dog to choose them. “Lucy left some big paws to fill,” he says. “We want another big dog, and it’s got to be a character. There was only one Lucy, and we were very, very, very blessed to have her.”

To donate to Save a Stray in Lucy’s memory, go here.