Dog Pack Series: Lily

Lily is the matriarch of my pack and has been with me since she was six weeks old. She came to me when I was in Long Beach, California working at VCA Lakewood Animal Hospital. Lily was discovered by animal control workers, cruising the gutter in Compton California. I guess that makes her an original gangster, she got to the hospital at about 2 am she had a nasty bite wound on her face and was so dirty you couldn’t tell she was white. We figured she came from someone breeding and fighting pit bulls and once she had been bit they threw her in the street. We cleaned her up and I took her home.

Lily in her younger days hanging out at the beach.

The first time I laid eyes on her I knew three things,

One. Her name was Lily

Two. That she was really special and

Three. She was the ugliest duckling puppy I had ever seen.

She was the first dog that was truly mine and she has turned out to be really special in every way. She is the sweetest dog I know (biased I know) and loves me above all others. She is painfully shy and takes a while to warm up to new people however, once she does you have a friend for life. She is very obedient and just wants to make me happy.

When she was younger her favorite things included, ball, Frisbee, the beach, and swimming in the pool,lake and ocean. She could jump five or more feet off of the ground to catch a Frisbee, run as fast as she could after the ball and was the best belly flopper off the side of the pool you ever laid eyes on. She is also the smartest dog I own by far. She speaks English (anyone who knows her can attest to this). As she looks at me when I am talking to her you can tell she understands. I often wait for her to respond then remember that she is after all, a dog. She loves to go to work with me and does some pretty funny stuff while she is there for example, she knows that when we are taking x-rays she either has to go away from the beam or if she wants to stay in the room she lays down so I can cover her with a lead gown.

Lily in the prime of her life jumping off the side of the pool!

Unfortunately Lils is getting older. She will be eleven in December and has some serious health issues. When she was one year old she took locks off of two gates at my house in Long Beach and got out of the yard while I was at work. She was gone for five days (freaking out I know) and when I found her she had been hit by a car. She suffered a broken pelvis (broken in 3 places) and her tail was badly broken and had to be removed. When she was six years old she ruptured her ACL ligament on her right knee and had surgery only to rupture the left one as soon as the first one healed. She underwent back surgery two years ago and continues to have weakness. She was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy (the same as MS in humans) last year and now she is battling that. She also had a pretty aggressive malignant cancer removed from her leg about 6 months ago.

Lily enjoying her golden years, sunbathing in the yard.

It is really hard watching such a good friend that has been through so much with me getting old. That dog has traveled halfway across the country with me and put up with countless foster pets, pet sitting pets, cats and of course her constant companion Suki. She has helped me break in the three new pups I have and has showed them how to be good members of the pack. She spends most of her time sleeping and laying around in the house like an old lady should, however she still manages to chase the puppies around every once in a while. Her favorite things to do in her old age include; sunbathing, taking dips in the kiddy pool when it’s hot, going to work with me and sleeping under the covers in her bed in the winter. I don’t know what I will do when she is gone I will miss her terribly. I try not to think about that though and just savor every minute I have with her and I always remember she is the greatest.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lily.