My Lilly came to me when she was 6 weeks old from my 16 yr old daughter who we called Mama Krystle. She was sick from Pnemonia. She was rescued from a smokey builing in Chico and given to my daughter. The Vet kept giving her anitibiotics and she was not responding. She would run and play and have this awful cough. I realized that Krystle was not responsilbe to give her the complete dose of antibiotics. I then took over the medical bills and the care of Lilly. I loved her at first sight. And became Mommy. This has never happened before. I was told to have her put down that they didnt think she would survive this kind of Phnemonia. I asked for one more dose and was told that it could make her very sick. Well....she was going to die at 7 weeks anyway. On the 10th day of antibiotics she recovered. Finally!
I remember having her tubes tied and waiting in the vet until she was out of surgery. I was so attached. The same when she had to be put to sleep to have a fox tail removed. She went to school with Krystle everyday and hung out in the Agriculture classes. After a couple of weeks the school said "no more" she was traded off by all the kids at the school and never roamed. She then was put in my daughters boyfreinds garage with the other dogs in a kennel during the day. On day 1 I went to the boyfreinds and stole her! She was mine from there on out.
She had a freind Sammy (a dog that eventually ran away and joined a group of Samoideds) they would take walks in the country and Lilly would come back exactially 2 hours later. No matter what time she left the house, she would always come home. Not Sammy. So, I went and found a freind for her at the humane society, Venecia. Venecia turned out to be the Mommy dog to Lilly.
We went on walks every day after work and to the resevoir on the weekends. Lilly swam after sticks, balls and Venecia just sniffed around. Lilly was a people dog, not a doggy dog. Except for Sammy and her boyfreind Bo and Baxter (Krystle and my brothers new dogs) She was attacked at 12 months by two Bull Mastiffs. Venecia bit one on the butt and one in the ear. She saved her daughters life. Unfortunately the Bull Mastiffs had to be put down since they had attacked many other dogs at dog parks and schools. This made her submissive to other dogs. When we went to the dog park, all Lilly cared about was playing catch. She would catch balls 50ft in the air and over 30 ft out. We called her Lilly Mayes. Venecia played with little dogs and sniffed around. They were both happy. We then moved to a ranch two years ago and Lilly never left my side. We played catch....she was ball obsessive to say the leaste. She loved people like crazy. She was a red heeler and pit mix.
In 2007 at 5 yrs old she had some vomiting. I took her to her vet (who was afraid of her) but loved little Venecia. Lilly was so scared of that vet. He neglected to tell me she was in early stage Kidney failure. Her levels were twice which they should have been.
She would get tired easily and drank a lot of water and I was told that she just drinks a lot and has clear urine, nothing to worry about,.Right!
In late Feb 2009 she started having tremors. I took her to an emergency Vet and was told that she was in Kidney failure. They had received her Vets report and saw that she had this problem for 2 years!! It was now acute, chronic. She stayed in ICU for 5 days and $3,500 later. I was told to give her fluids sub cutaniously and I was tolf she could live at least 6mo to a year. Her poor skin was so raw from all this fluid that she yelped before the needle even went in at about 1 month. However, after her big buldge of fluid she was treated with and hour of ball play at home in the country. I decided to take her off the fluids and let her be a dog. I then took her to a new Vet and had her levels checked. They had not gone up since the last check at ER vet. I was told without fluids she wouldnt make it long. Stupid me waited a week and had them recheched. I then tried to revive her by starting the fluids again. She started failing fast and within a week she was off the charts despite the fluids.
She was my best freind in the world. She started having tremors again and the new vet gave her Valium. I got to take her to the dog park and resevoir one last time since she was not tremoring due to the Valium. This was on a Saturday. On Monday I was going to have her put down but she suddenly had a burst of energy to play with that green tennis ball. I took her in that day for blood work (by the way she loved the new Vet and likewise). I got the results the next day. She went out to pee that same night and could barely walk. I made the decision to have her humanely uthinized on Wednesday April 29th. She slept and didnt move all day Tuesday. I wanted that last night to hold her and not let go until the time on Wednesday at 4:30pm. They gave her the "pre shot" first. Thank god! She went to sleep as if she were going to surgery. Then while her eyes were still open they gave the last and final shot. Before the pre shot, I told her I loved her and she would be okay and thanked her for being such a gift for 6 yrs and 9months.I freaked out when the second shot came and her eyes were still open and ran out to the waiting room. Mama Krysle and her best freind Allie (Vet Tech) stayed with her. I coulnt beleive they were killing her while she had her eyes open. I didn't know that this is normal and she was asleep prior to the final shot. I did have a sence of releif for that night but the pain has gotten worse...Weekends are hard and night time is tough. People just don't understand that this was my baby! She slept on my bed every night or with Mama Krystle when she came over. I had hurt my back right before she got sick and did not sleep in my bed every night. Had I known she only had a short time, I would have followed her to bed at her normal 8pm bedtime. Darnit, i wish I would have known. Also, at the time I took her off the fluids my mom became very ill. I was back and forth between my mom and Lilly. Mom was in the hospital 10 days while 5 of those she was fine and the other 5 she was going down hill....I couldnt stand loosing my bestfreind and my mom and after the first 5 days I started her on the fluids agian. Too little too late, or her levels could have gone up inspite of me taking her off fluids....I'll never know.
Sissy Venecia sits on the bed on the same time every time during the candlelight vigil and Kitty Nala sits by her picture during the ceremony.
I try and remember the good time; every kitten she came in contact she thought was her baby and each one sucked on her one nipple and she let this happen. All the times to the resevoir, dog park, camping trips with her and sissy Veneica where we camped on the river so she could swim. All the times she came and cuddled with me for an hour before I went to work on my recliner while I had my coffee. The doggy massages, the brushes she loved, the ear and eye cleaing from sissy Venecia. All the times I came home from work, she would pick up a shoe, remote or whatever she could find and wine because she was so happy. The doggy car rides (just about every day) the times she got treats everytime we went to the store. The way she understood everything I told her. Her bark when she wanted me to come to the room or wanted a ball. All the swimming she did, even in our above ground pool. The way she would lay in her doggy pool when she got hot from chasing the ball. The sunbathing she did everychance she got. The fact that I could leave her outside and she would just stay by the front door. The piggy noises she made when she was playing. The way she would grab onto a rope toy and let me swing her in the air. The times we would play wall ball (where I bounched the ball off the wall during the winter so she could still play. The times she went to work with me (a lot)The UNCONDITIONAL LOVE SHE GAVE ME.

How does someone let go of this? She replaced the lonileness I had when my kids were 15 and 16 and doing their own thing. She was so storng and fought to the end. I am trying to move on and some days are better than most. The angriness i feel toward her first vet for not letting me know she could have been on a special diet to prolong her life.
She could not have had a better life and I could not have had a better best freind!!!!!! For those that tell me she was just a dog and it has been enough time. I will remind myself of the joy she brought into my life and ignore the ignorance out there. I suggest you all do the same.

In closing, I wrote a gratitude letter to Lilly that I read outloud before the canle light vigil and any night I need to. And I pay a lot of attention to sissy Venicia and thank her for being such a good mommy

Thank you for reading about my bestfreind!

Debbie Reis