L illy came bounding into my family’s life in 2016 when we were trying to mend our broken hearts after losing our beloved French bulldog Yoda. This complete bundle of joy had died at only three years old, from a back problem we were unaware of until it was too late. The plan was to get a Frenchie puppy that we could nurture and love from day one, but when we went to visit the breeder, she mentioned she also had a few older dogs.
When she let them into the room, we were instantly smitten by Lilly, a three-year-old golden girl whose personality was already very much formed. My dad, who had been particularly close to Yoda, had a heart in need of that extra bit of healing. Lilly ran to him first without hesitation, as if she instinctively knew he was the one who needed the licks and fuss the most.
Weeks after meeting Lilly and the pups, she was still all we could talk about – but we were unaware that she would ever be an option. A month or so later, however, we received a call from the breeder to say that she’d been thinking about trying to find a new home for Lilly – and after meeting us, she felt there could be no better family to raise her. Without hesitation, we agreed to pick her up.
We spent the first night with Lilly trying to encourage the same behaviour as Yoda, including not being allowed to go upstairs. We failed due to Lilly’s constant low grumble-bark of not wanting to be left out. She was out of the crate where she was supposed to sleep and up the stairs w.