Lilly’s 5th Birthday Festivities

Oh Lilly bug.  My
little nugget.  You turn 5 today.  Actually we aren’t sure because since you
were a rescue we had no way of knowing for sure when your birthday is or how
old you are.  According to the vet you
should be about 5 years old today.  Also,
since I rescued you on March 21st, 2012 that will be your birthday.  You had a new beginning with my family and
me.  You have a happy life.  When I first brought you home, you were 14
lbs (you’re close to 30 now you sausage) and I could see your bones.  You refused to eat anything, not even
ham!  No one would believe me nowadays
judging by how your mouth is always moving, yea, I see you eating those dust
bunnies and licking the cabinets you weirdo. 
I felt so bad when I first brought you home because not only were you not
eating, but you weren’t drinking, you weren’t comfortable.  The same spot I left you in when I had to go
back to work (yes, I was crazy and went to the shelter during lunch hour) was
the same spot I found you when I came home. 
You didn’t wag your tail at all and every time I went to go pet you, you
thought I was going to hit you.  I’m
sorry that you had a bad past.  I’m sorry
if the previous owners hurt you in any way. 
I hope I make up for it baby girl.

Do you remember that time when I thought that you were going
to be such a well mannered dog since you were so scared and I came home to a
demolished apartment?  You ate the
blinds, you chewed a hole in the carpet, you somehow got in both garbages (the
one was under the sink so I have no idea how that happened), you ate all of my
flip flops, you tore apart any clothing that was left on the floor, AND you
left me a lovely mess of poo and pee to clean up.  The best part of this whole situation is as
soon as I opened the door you were there to greet me with your tail wagging and
fluff from your toys all around you. 
Yup, that was the day I got you a crate and decided to crate train
you. 

I will never forget that one scary moment in the middle of
the night when I am convinced that you saved my life.  We were still living in Texas and I woke up
to you viciously growling like a German Shepherd.  At first I was scared because I thought maybe
you were rabid or you were going to try to bite my head off but then when I
heard that noise and turned to the window to see a shadow figure and what
sounded like someone trying to break in I was thankful to have you.  In that moment I not only went into a
survival mode of adrenaline but I also turned into a mother to you.  I would have done anything to protect
you.  However, I didn’t have to do much
because right after I grabbed something to defend myself you started barking
like I’ve never heard before.  You
sounded like an attack dog that was 5 times your size.  That figure ran so quick, lights turned on,
and we were able to go back to sleep and it never happened again.

Even though you are the epitome of Marley from Marley and Me
I love you anyway.  You were there for me
through some of the lowest of lows and highest of highs.  When they say a dog is a (wo)man’s best
friend they aren’t lying.  You love me
unconditionally and you will always lick my tears off my face or bonk your head
into me to stop being sad.  Or how about
when you are trying to twist yourself into your blanket and you get mad and
just sit there waiting for someone to cover you. 

I love you Lilly Savannah. 
Happy 5th birthday! 
Here’s to many more!  The one question
I will leave y’all with is when it comes to rescue animals “who really rescued
who?”

Now, let’s get into some pictures of her birthday festivities!