Today is our oldest fur-baby’s birthday. She is 4 years young today and handling the milestone quite well.

A few weeks ago I did a post for Enzo (read it here) but today will be all about Lylee.

Name || Lylee
DOB || June 17, 2011
Gotcha Date || December 7, 2012
Heritage || Husky, Boxer, Lab?
Eye Color || Brown
Fur Color || Golden blonde
Weight || +65lbs.
Nicknames || Ly, Lylee Bear, Bear, Bearface, Wy-wee, Big Bear, Wy-wee Bear, Lyler, Fluffy butt, Wywer

Adoption Story
Lylee was originally adopted from a local Ohio shelter, but not by us. She spent her first year with friends of ours (Kelsey & Andy). Unforeseen circumstances forced them to make the heartbreaking decision to re-home Lylee, but Kelsey was determined to keep her out of the shelter. After pleading with my parents (& Kyle, since we’d be married in less than a year) I told Kelsey that we would take her. On December 7, 2012 we drove an hour north to meet Kelsey and load up Lylee, her dog house, and everything else that came with her.

I remember it was storming that night but Lylee hopped right into my car, laid down, and fell asleep.

Hunting for a Dog House
We adopted Ly in December, got married in April, and I moved into the apartment with Kyle right away. Unfortunately Lylee stayed at my parents’ house. Since they’re gone most of the day, she was tied out a lot. (If you know Lylee you know that she does not like being tied out.) These days of isolation brought out a new personality in her- she became fearful of storms, aggressive toward some dogs, and very anxious.

We could see the transformation and knew something had to be done… so we bought a house. Lylee was the first one to move in.

Growing the Family
After we bought our house I started casually browsing PetFinder. (I still tend to casual browse PetFinder……) Lylee was getting more dog-aggressive/anxious and needed a sibling. I finally convinced K of this and on December 7, 2013 (yes, one year after taking in Ly) we set out for a boxer-mix. Instead, we found Enzo.

We knew the deciding factor would be Lylee. When we introduced them in our driveway Lylee gave him a few sniffs, pushed him around with her nose, and decided he would do as a brother.

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
Lylee is a very anxious dog. She’s also very friendly & loyal, but when she gets scared (other dogs, loud children, etc.) she reacts with fight rather than flight… Since we brought her home we’ve been working on this- she has been to obedience school, seen a dog trainer/whisperer, and taken medication. She still quivers in a bad storm and barks at foreign dogs, but she has a few dogs that she gets along with and she’s starting to relax on her own. (She’s been medication-free for over a year now, with the exception of occasional Benadryl.)

She’s a handful but she’s my favorite handful.

Princess Lylee
The best part about Lylee is her personality. Some people have one-sided conversations with their pets; my dog actually talks back. She will ask for a walk (daily), she’ll demand food, she will tell you if her ball is stuck under the couch, and she will come find you and tell you when she’d like to go outside. She sits on her brother to get him to move. She tricks him into giving up his toys. She snuggled into the bed, all by herself.

She is the smartest dog I have ever come across. She knows more than a few words and her reasoning skills are incredible. She associates my tennis shoes with a walk, a chain link fence with dogs, and steam/smoke from the stove with smoke detectors (my bad).

I am so grateful that Lylee crossed our path and enter our life when she did- she’s an amazing critter. Happy Birthday, Big Bear! Love you!

(Am I the only one that gets puppy fever when looking through old photos??)

-Louise