my first "baby" Lily

Years before I was blessed with Marek, I became a mother to a wild, quirky, loveable puppy named Lily. I found her in the "free to a good home" ads in the Bloomington, Indiana newspaper. I drove out into the country to a Cape Cod-style home to a family with small boys and an older hunting dog, Lily's mother. Lily was a surprise to her first owners as her mother was already 9 years old. Lily was also unique in that she was the only puppy in her litter. Really the only one - no stillborns or anything - just her! She was just 6 weeks old (which was probably too young to leave her mother, in my opinion, but her mother was already showing signs of pushing her out into the world on her own according to the owners). She was all white except for a black spot near her eye. She was energetic, happy, and friendly. Her mother, Britney, was a gorgeous orange-and-white English Setter. Her father unknown. I used to imagine the scenario played out like this... Late one night a beautiful Britney was taking a walk and ran into Bachelor Dog. He sauntered over and said, "What's a fine girl like you doing out on a night like this?" She replies, (in a high, delicate Southern accent), "Just walkin', I guess." And the rest is history. Anyway, I adopted Lily that day. She came home wrapped in an old, torn flannel shirt that she'd be lying on and I got a quick education in puppyhood: wimpers, barking, potty training, dealing with worms (this is perhaps the most unpleasant memory I have), chewing up everything in sight, mouthing, jumping, LEAPING over people sitting on the couch... Have you seen the movie "Marley & Me"? Marley had a kindred spirit in Lily during her puppy days. During her first year she chewed through the dyer hose, basebords, unraveled sections of our berber carpeting, shredded a papasan, dug a hole in my mattress, chewed through shoes, toys, and pretty much anything in sight. I used to "escape" on my bed until that dreaded day when she grew big enough to jump up on it!

Not to say there wasn't an effort to train her and tame that wild spirit. I did potty train her in a very short time by walking her outside at every whimper night or day (good sleep deprivation training for later newborn child months!). I pored over dog training guidebooks at the library. I asked friends for advice. We enrolled in the much-recommended obedience class taught a former K-9 officer. Crate training, reward systems, dominance positions, command training...nothing worked for very long. It's a good thing she was so darn cute and sweet at times too! She begged, she leapt over the back fence, she escaped out of the fenced areas of the kennel...and boy could she run. She was lightning fast. I used to take her to a large park/fairgrounds area to run free often. Other parkgoers would comment on her speed asking, "is she part Greyhound?" [OK, clearly they didn't know what Greyhounds look like!]

She had some really crazy experiences too. One time while running free with her at a park near our home, a big black dog chased her. She ran so fast out of the park and down the street that I never thought I'd see her again. Luckily she ran straight to a neighbor's house a few blocks away and he held her there until I arrived, out of breath and panicked from the search. When she was about 3 months old a wolf chased her at another park and she ran so fast she slid under a fence and dropped about 20 feet onto concrete to escape. Good thing her little body was rubbery! And I'm serious about the wolf thing. Minutes earlier I heard the owner being asked by someone nearby, "What breed is your dog? He looks like a wolf!" The owner of said dog uncomfortably reply, "Umm...well, he is part wolf. I really don't tell people how much wolf he is or they freak out." She also lept without looking into various creeks, lakes, and sludgey midwestern ponds. But she had a grand time and was such a fun dog to have around!

She didn't bark for her first year or so. Funny, as now her bark is so loud and piercing it's the #1 complaint I have (as do others) about her. Her wild chewing, crazy antics dramatically decreased between 1-2 years of age. But she was still full of crazy energy until a couple of years ago. My life went through some difficult changes and she didn't have the opportunity to run as much or as often as she used to. We moved several times and she put on weight. And now recently she's had some health difficulties that make me wonder how long she's going to be with me. She's only 10 years old, so she really should be still in her prime, not having such poor health suddenly. When I take her on a walk or for a run, she wanders but doesn't run with abandon like she used to. She drinks water all the time, lies around most of the time, has continual troubles with her stomach, and just seems sad and physically in poor condition. It makes me sad, especially as I know my energies shifted away from her once Marek was born. It's time for yet another vet appointment to see if they can figure out what's going on. She has developed a thyroid condition, but this seems a little more worrisome. She gets up countless times throughout the night.

Lily, it's been a wild and delightful ride. And I hope we still have many years together! Here are some photos from her later years. I'll have to search for some puppy photos as she was so cute!!!