Dear Orange Friends:
Lucky, our almost 18-year-old dog, passed away just before the holidays. She adopted my family after being abandoned in a parking lot in Hendersonville, Tennessee, in 1999. Many hundreds of Syracuse University students, faculty, staff, and friends have gotten to know her over the past three years in our house and in the neighborhood. She never met a person she did not like.
Animals are unique, and Lucky was no exception: she patrolled the house every night to make sure each of us (and our house guests) was still breathing; she was deathly afraid of water; she did not care what people looked like, except that she was especially attached to anyone who had tools and worked in any way in our house or on campus. She is deeply missed.
I used to think folks who talked with and about their pets needed more time with people. Lucky taught me I was wrong; she brought people together. No doubt another dog will adopt us eventually. I’m just grateful Lucky did so.
Sincerely,
Kent Syverud
Chancellor Kent Syverud