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Today the dynamic-duo Bouvier adventure we began on Halloween, 2002 has come to a gentle end. Lillie died today as gracefully as I’ve ever seen, all on her own.

My prayer for each creature for whom we’re given stewardship responsibility has long been, “May this one be granted her fullest measure of days, lived in health and happiness. And when that full measure of days has arrived, may I have the grace to recognize it, not a day too soon, not a day too late, and on that day act with decisiveness and compassion to assist this little one out the door in peace.”

Today Lillie made living out that commitment easier for me than I’ve experienced before. The situation was almost, “Okay, gotta go now, bye-bye.” She left on her terms, when she was ready, which is just like her.

When we met Lillie and Emma for the first time that long-ago evening in 2002, I didn’t foresee Lillie being my girl. I thought big ol’ Emma would be; her size reminded me of our dearly departed Newfoundland, and so I was especially drawn to her. But Lillie thought otherwise and bonded to me in short order.

Lillie was always a doggie dog — no teddy bear behaviour from her, no sir. She usually kept her own counsel, not feeling much need to communicate with us in sappy ways. But as Stephanie often pointed out, when push came to shove, Lillie nearly always let on that I was her special person. (How many times did I hear a reverberating “thok” on the bathroom door while I was showering, look out, and see she had butted it open with her head to come in, lie down, and be with me?)

In these last months I think she enjoyed being Tia Lillie to our new rescue ‘doodle mix Eli since he arrived last October. Sometimes Eli bugged the stew out of her, but I think his affection for her and his nonstop young-pup playfulness added months to her life. It’s fun to watch a 12 year old dog play again.

RIP, my stalwart, stubborn, devoted, no-drama friend. I love you.

(When Lillie arrived, Stephanie called her “fierce huntress of the plains” because she would brook no invaders of our back yard. She’d sit outside very still, watching, watching, then Zooooom! Off she’d go in a flash to run that squirrel- or bird interloper off to where it belonged: outside her domain.)

Peabody (RIP), Emma (RIP), and Lillie hang out, April 2003.

Peabody, the elder statesman (RIP)	Lillie, the winsome lass	Emma, the Rubenesque belle (RIP)

<!— imported into MT from 2002 Radio entry via RE on 2003-12-10 —>

We’re now proud parents of two rescue bouviers, Lillie (RIP) and Emma (RIP), thanks to Judy and the folks at Second Chance Bouvier Rescue (scroll halfway down to “Lily” and “Liza” to see these girls’ adoption updates).

Last Thursday we packed into Steph’s monster truck with our old-guy lab mix Peabody (RIP) and headed to central Ohio. Ten hours later on a high school tennis court near Columbus, we met these bouvier girls for the first time along with their foster family. (Meeting through the court’s fence let Peabody and bouvs safely say hi; five minutes later they were happily running all over the court together.)

We took custody of the bouvs early the next morning, then drove ten hours back to Memphis. Height of autumn colors! Sunny All Saints’ Day! No accidents in the truck! The round trip was an wonderful adventure, but a tiring one I’d rather not repeat for a few years at least. We’d suck as truckers. :-)

The older girl, Lillie, is becoming my girl. I’m reminded anew that there’s nothing like a girl dog! The younger girl, Emma, is a big ‘un. She’s a Newfoundland-size bouvier, weighing in at an overweight 120 lbs. We’ll probably get her down to 100. Apart from her girth, it’s eerie sometimes how much she looks like, and acts like, Paddington. When considering her girth, however, it’s more like the difference between 1968 Capt. Kirk and modern-day William Shatner. :-)

We’ve approached introducing them to other people and animals with a high degree of caution, as is usually appropriate for assertive-breed rescues whose past you don’t know fully. But so far these girls have met people quite gently and courteously. Still to go: introducing them to small children and small dogs. We’re told they dislike cats, but they didn’t seem too bothered by a kitten at the vet’s.

I think both Lillie and Emma are going to bloom into wonderful people. Different as they are, I already love them both.

<!— imported into MT from 2002 Radio entry via RE on 2003-12-10 —>