Roxie, Lily's "sister", is due to whelp any day now. Her first litter. Excitement is in the air.
It takes me back to Lily's birth, three years ago, and the anticipation. I had waited two years for Lily and even after she was born, it wasn't a sure thing that she would be the pup for me.
I knew that I wanted a female. And a blue, of course. When the pups were born there were 7. But only two blue females. And Liz knew that she wanted to keep a blue female from the litter, if it met all her criteria.
My pup's temperament would be important. She would be my service dog. Shayla was 8 and her IBD caused me to retire her for medical reasons. So I was "service dog-less".
A lot of conversation went back and forth between me and Liz during the first weeks. She soon determined that Roxie was the pick of the litter. And with a very dominant personality. Not a consideration.
So we watched and waited as the pups grew and developed their personalities. Would Lily be the girl for me?
Lily was the pup wearing the pink collar. So from the beginning she was "Lily the Pink".
Wendi and I planned a leisurely drive up to northern California to see Lily and to administer the Volhard on her 49th day. We did our research....discovering there was a lot we didn't know about conformation and other things puppy.
Liz asked, "Would you take a gray?" Wendi reminded me that I wanted a blue.
Liz asked, "Would you take a blue male?" Wendi reminded me that I wanted a female.
So we made the journey and.....returned with Lily the Pink. AND Quincy, a gray female who we would deliver to her new owner in LA on the trip home.
What fun! Two fat squirming puppies to play with for a day and a half.
We started their Levels training at Liz' and had them "touching" and staying off of a treat in our hands before getting home!
Lily. A blue female. With blue eyes. And her pink collar.
And now Roxie will carry on the line.
But there will never be another Lily.
