Lily is our December 10, 2017 Pup of the Week

There is never a good time to send a beloved pup to Rainbow Bridge, but December is the worst.  During the holidays we count our blessings and hold our loved ones tighter.  Losing a family member not only casts a dark shadow on the upcoming festivities but a cloud reappears each subsequent holiday season as a sad reminder.

Recently we wrote the unimaginable tale of Jasper and Sophie-Rae.  Jasper’s parents knew he was ill, but they had no idea Sophie-Rae was running out of heartbeats too.  The same is true of my blogger friends Lily and Muffin who write the Doxie Life blog.  Their parents knew Muffin had congestive heart failure, but they had no signal that Lily was ill as well.

Lily and Muffin’s parents were at the doctor’s waiting for Muffin to have a follow-up exam when suddenly Lily went into full respiratory distress.   She was immediately placed in an oxygen tent.  Subsequent x-rays showed that Lily had fluid around her heart and her liver was twice the normal size.

An oxygen tent is a very bad place to be.  I went in on a Friday and didn’t come out for more than a minute until my parents sent me here on a Sunday.  The tents are necessary:  Without them, neither Lily or I could have lived another five minutes.  But, we both became dependent on it to live and someday you have to come out of the tent.

Lily departed for the Bridge the day after she was placed in the tent.  There were tear clouds from across the world leaving wide puddles on the ground as Lily climbed the steps to start her immortal life. Her grandparents were there to greet her and to tell her she would never be without a human touch.  She gave the hundreds of kisses.

I got a moment alone with her and asked her why she didn’t let her parents know that she wasn’t feeling well.  “My parents were already worried about Muffin,” she explained.  “They say dogs don’t like to show pain because it is a sign of weakness.  It is not weakness it is worry.  We don’t want to show pain because it makes our parents nervous.  They were nervous enough with Muffin.”

Lily does hope she did not ruin her parents’ Christmas forever.  She loved every Christmas they spent together and hoped this Christmas they will only have good memories of her.  She has vowed to become Muffin’s angel and give her plenty of heartbeats, so her parents do not go through this pain again for a long time.

She wants them to know she will be there this Christmas and everyone to come, twinkling like lights on the tree, singing along with the carolers on the radio, and in their hearts.


Hopefully, Lily’s parents can keep that knowledge in their hearts and their heads and don’t let Christmas be a sad reminder of her but a joyous remembrance.

Lily is our March 29, 2015 Pup of the Week

    When it comes to the health of us precious babies there is no illness or medical procedure that is small.  This week when Lily’s, everyone’s sister and best friend, who I had been jealous of because she had kept her ovaries while mine were discarded like an empty treat package, had those very same ovaries turn on her, causing medical issues, and the ovaries needed to be removed.  I was upset first because I hate when my friends have surgery and second I am now a teenager and like any teenager I get mad when Mom is right.

Things change very quickly here.  All us pup angels were lying on the grass, soaking up the sun, when our prayer phones started chirping, and we were inundated with prayers for Lily.  We all took off, flying the prayers up the mountain, while frantically trying to read the reason for the prayers.   She has to get her lady parts out.  It could be worse:  But truthfully the thought of Lily having any surgery scared the fluff right out of me.

Lily isn’t the pup who should be needing prayers.  She sends prayers, she helps those who are down, she has answers, she makes everyone laugh.  She has never needed prayers. 

She is an invincible little pup so her needing prayers scared me, and when I landed I realized it scared the other angels too.  

 We got together to discuss how to make sure Lily didn’t cross the River of Life.  I suggested blowing up the Bridge but Ladybug said if the Bridge wasn’t there the Big Guy would guide new angels across the River.  I then suggested blowing up the stairs so Lily couldn’t climb them to be sworn in and Ladybug told me the Big Guy would just lift her up.  I  suggested we blow up where I swear pups in and Ladybug put a paw on my shoulder and suggested anger management.

I was angry.  There has been been way too many pups crossing the River and I certainly did not want Lily to be one.  So, instead of blowing something up I decided to go back to my cloud and pray for Lily.

I could hear lots of puppy prayers during Lily’s surgery, both on the mortal .and immortal side of the River of Life.  Thankfully every prayer was answered yes and Lily was brought home the night of her surgery.  

 It was a rough first, as it is for all of us.  The after effects of the anesthesia is a bugger to get past.  And whenever someone sticks a knife in you and remove something it stings a bit.  But Lily is recovering and we pray she continue to do so.

We spend so many time cursing the Big Guy for saying no I must give him credit when he says yes.

The Courtship of Hobo Hudson Part Two

This is part two of the Courtship of Hobo and Lily.  Part one can be found here  There will be further installments to follow.  When we last left them Hobo and Lily had split up over Hobo trying to give her an actual rock for an engagement gift and then a string of misunderstandings.  Their friends have come together to help them find true love.

Hobo is awakened  by the jangle of his alarm at 6 a.m. and jumped into the shower.  After having blown-dried his fur, he stared into the mirror and carefully drew a very thin black line down his upper right fang with a sharpie. Then, he stuffed cotton balls into his upper lip to simulate swelling and off he went.

He kept his lip curled back to allow the ink to dry, and donned a fedora.   He sat in Lily’s office doorway by 7:30 a.m. where he kept a sharp lookout for the arrival of Lily’s office personnel.  A little poodle in scrubs walked up and fumbled in her purse for keys, and Hobo began a low moaning. The little poodle looked at him and asked, “What’s the matter?”  Hobo looked up and groaned, “I cracked a fang on a steak bone last night, and it’s killing me. The hotel told me Dr. Lily is the best dentist in California. Do you think she has time to help me?”

The little poodle smiled and said, “Oh course, Dr. Lily always keeps a few openings on Monday for emergencies.” She took Hobo’s paw, and helped him get up and lead him into one of the exami rooms. She put a bib around Hobo’s neck and reclined the chair. Hobo complained of the bright light hurting his eyes and asked her to put a towel over his eyes.

The little poodle walked out and returned with a clipboard. “Let me get a little information while we’re waiting. Name?” Hobo thought fast. He couldn’t give his real name or Lily might run. “Tramp,” he replied.

After a few more questions, Hobo heard Lily’s bark at the front door, and the little poodle said to him, “I’ll send Dr. Lily right in, and we’ll finish the paperwork later.” She placed the clipboard in a basket attached to the outside of the door and walks away to call Dr. Lily.

Lily took the chart down and started to read ... *broken upper right canine with swelling*  She saw the patient in the chair with a towel over his eyes.  She read the chart again  and saw the patient’s name *TRAMP*.  “Right then,” Lily thinks smelling something familiar... Fish!  She looked again at the patient and saw his tail is wagging.  She realized it is Hobo! “ I would know that after shave anywhere!” she thought.

Lily was happy to see Hobo but couldn’t resist teasing him for the way he had been behaving.  “Mr. Tramp?  You need a root canal!” she said.    Hobo tried to pull the towel off his eyes but the little poodle told him to leave it on,  *Dr. Lily has to numb you first.  You don't want to see the big needle  err... the sleepy juice,” the poodle said.   Lily laughed behind her mask.

Hobo/Tramp tried to sit up at the mention of the big needle and a root canal.  Maybe he has pushed it too far?  The little white poodle took Tramp's hand and said “now, now Mr. Tramp.  You must hold still or Dr. Lily can hurt you with that big ol' needle and drill.”

Lily picks up the drill and started it “zzzzzzzz.”

Hobo clinched his teeth and didn’t yelp when the Novocain went in but, a few minutes later, he heard the drill and terror provided,superdog strength. He wrested his paw free from the tech and leapt to the door to prevent Lily from escaping

He tried to proclaim his love for Lily but the Novocain had deadened  his lips and tongue and it comes out as “LulahismahOoba. I oovesugh.”

Frustrated, he fell to his knees and reached for the box he had left just inside the doorway, thinking that if Lily saw the ring, she would know it was Hobo and what he was trying to bark. The little tech, thinking he was a  terrorist reaching for a bomb, gave a frightened yelp and dove under the dental chair.

Lily helped the assistant to her feet.  “I said he was a terrier, not a terrorist,” she cried.    Lily looked around for Hobo.  “Now where did he disappear to?  He was just about to ask me something.  I think you scared him when you screamed and grabbed the stun gun” she chastised the tech.

Lily looked all over the office but couldn't find Hobo.  She looked in the lab and in the other operatories and even in her office.  No Hobo.

On seeing the tech’s terrified reaction to Hobo reached for the box, he grabbed it and ran out to the reception room just in time to hear Lily’s sweet tinkling laughter and realized that Lily had seen through his disguise and was just toying with him. He flung a few kibbles on the payment desk and walked dejectedly out the door.