Happy 7th Birthday Lilly-girl!

I wanted Lil to have a seperate post for her birthday so here we go!

Lil didn't have the greatest start to life, She was part of an "oops" litter of 6 papillon puppies and one of the last ones to find a home. My mom found the ad in the newspaper and decided to make the drive out to "look" at the puppies. Part of her had to know she wasn't leaving there without one. A dog-crazy 10 year old craving a puppy only has so much self control.

Naturally my sister and I picked different puppies. She wanted the dark faced sable boy, I wanted the girl with a heart on her head. After a few shed tears mom sided with me. My mom was less than thrilled about it, she had dreamed of a beautiful long haired dog that could easily fit in her purse. What we got was a leggy, hairless papillon that nobody else seemed to want.

Lilly is far from perfect, but she was exactly what we as a family, and what I as a "trainer", needed. She was easily house trained, easy to train, and very relaxed, even as a puppy. She introduced me to clicker training and fufilled my dream of getting into dog agility.

Through her I learned patience, how to build up confidence until it outweighed fear, to work for what I wanted, and to keep working towards my dreams no matter how far away they may feel.

Lilly, faithful guardian of sleeping in, believer in all things meat, master of fear over see-saw, and best friend for all these years. I'm looking forward to many more happy years, words can't express how important having you in my life has been. Can't wait to see what our future holds.