March 23rd, 2011, at about 3:00 PM, my childhood pet passed away. Lilly the Maltese was over 12 years old when she left this world.
She had been living happily with my dad in Pennsylvania when her older age brought complications to her health. Surgery was performed on her on 3/15 in the hopes to reverse the issues, but her health continued to decline, with lab results proving her well-being was going in the wrong direction. Ultimately, she would not be recovering, and my dad chose to put her to sleep.
My greatest regret is that I had not seen her for about 3 years, ever since my dad moved to Pennsylvania with her, because it was too far to travel to. Even so, I have great memories of that pup...I grew up with her in my teen years, and she was always such an energetic, happy, encouraging bundle of joy. Several years in my life were spent with me being abused, but that dog kept my spirits up...provided unconditional love to me when nobody else would give it to me. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that her natural love and support kept me from committing suicide more than once during that period of my life.
She loved everybody, but she was always 'my dog' in particular, snuggling under the covers with me at night and just always paying attention to what I did and said. She was very intelligent, and really seemed to understand when I spoke to her about whatever. While Maltese are long-haired show dogs normally, Lilly's personality was scrappy, not dainty, and she preferred to be short-haired so she could romp and run around more easily.
Simply put...my little pup was a joy in my life.
Thank you, LustBubbles, for drawing this wonderful and accurate tribute picture...and for letting me hold her once more in my arms. It means so much to me...
snugs his happy little dog tightly Rest in peace, Lilly...
A RL photo of Lilly can be seen here: http://neuropod.net/imagehost/uploa.....eb0d962715.jpg