Henry and I flew home from Florida late last night and had plans to pick up the dogs from boarding first thing this morning. Unfortunately we received a crushing call from our vet that Lily had passed away in her boarding kennel during the night from a twisted stomach. We knew we had been on borrowed time with her being 9 1/2 years old, but we were and are so heartbroken that we weren’t there for her in the end. Maybe she knew how hard it was for us to make the decision when the time came for Brody, Cali, and Jade and she didn’t want us to have to go through that one more time. We will miss her everyday and know it is going to take a while to heal from this heartache we feel.
We are so grateful to so many for taking care of her all these years and in the end. A special thank you to the Utah Dog Park who had never ending patience with her over the years when she didn’t always have the most patience with the other dogs. Thank you Gina, Shane and all the others at the Utah Dog Park who take care of our babies when we travel.
Thank you to Quinci Cole for giving Lily her first bath after we adopted her and Caro for making her beautiful in her last years.
And thank you to the Vets at the ACC for helping us to manage her arthritis and hip dysphasia in these last few years. Thanks to all others at the ACC who have had patience with her each month when she came in for her grooms since she wasn’t always the most excited to see other dogs there. Special thanks to Dr Lindsay for driving up from Sugarhouse early this morning so that we could say our last goodbyes.
On March 24, 2010 this sweet spirit was born. And on December 28, 2013 she became apart of our family at 3 1/2 when we took Cali with us to meet her at a shelter in Park City. This was just a couple months before Cali would be passing over the rainbow bridge. We were so grateful to have her in our lives during that difficult time.
Less then a year later we knew Lily needed a new buddy, and so Jade found our family and those girls were the best of friends!
Next came Charlie a year later and when Jade passed, even though she was always the peacemaker middle child, I know they were glad to still have each other. And we said we really don’t need to have three dogs at a time again but then as fate would have it, Oscar joined our family earlier this year, and I can’t imagine how much sadder Charlie would have been to lose a second sister. He was really depressed for a long time after Jade passed and Oscar literally brought Charlie back to his old self.
Lily had the most tender spirit, even though to those who didn’t know her and walked past the fence might of thought she was kind of scary with her loud bark. But she really was just protective because she loved us and she was alpha pack leader for so many years we know she felt a great responsibility to take care of us all. But for those who came in through the front door knew she was the most wonderful dog in the world! She was an absolute love that never hurt a fly. she loved her bed and laying on the patio and in front of the fireplace. She loved plain cheeseburgers and pepperoni sticks and biscuits! She loved belly rubs and back scratches and ear scratches and armpit itches. She loved to be wherever we were. Lily, we love you and always will! Please give kisses to Brody, Cali, and Jade for us!
