Lilly - Day One Hour One

by Greg Russ
(Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)

Our first whippet named Buckley, has been such a good companion we decided to get another whippet this spring.

As some of you know, Pet Finder is a very dangerous website. Thinking that we would start looking in December and find our new family member by spring.

Well we know how that goes, within about 5 minutes we found her. Lilly, a 12 week old white female with a brindle patch on her side. Lilly was born deaf.

She came from a breeder in Ohio and when they found that she couldn't hear, she ended up at a very small private shelter. We figure she was bred for racing and the breeder figured her disability would hinder her abilities (we know that's not true).

We didn't tell anyone we were getting her not even Heather's son Liam (10), who absolutely adores Buckley. We packed our overnight bags and left Kitchener Ontario on a Friday afternoon to pick Lilly up that Saturday at noon.

It was about a 6 hour drive to the small town in central Ohio where the road conditions weren't great due to some snow that had fallen during the night.

We were worried what Lilly's reaction to a 6 hour car ride would be. Strange people, strange smells and a confined space. Not to mention the border crossing in Fort Erie to add to our stress.

Lilly was amazing! She simply sat on the floor in front of Heather and looked around. The border guard was more worried about what was in our trunk than the fact we had a dog in the front seat.

We have had Lilly for over 5 months. She has learned 5 hand signs and shows up Buckley when it come to patience while waiting to be fed. Now Buckley has a running and cuddling companion.

This picture was taken about an hour after we got her. She has the darkest button eyes and she can manipulate her ears however she pleases. This is Lilly.