Obituaries

What can I say about this wonderful, lovable little dog besides how much it hurts that she is gone. . . Miss Lily was not like other rescued dogs I've known. Though she unfortunately found herself in a shelter at the age of 13, she had always known love and care and was confident that even more love was out there for her to give and to receive. She was pulled from the shelter by the wonderful team at Tennessee Dachshund Rescue and found her way to me right after Christmas 2019. Her lovely foster family told me that out of the many fosters they'd had over the years, that she was their favorite, but that adoption applications are always scarce for senior dogs.

I know now that they were not exaggerating because Lily stole our hearts before her tiny paws even touched the ground in Georgia. Full of more swagger, joy, and pure dachshund bossiness than could fit in her little 13 lb body, she quickly established herself as pack leader of her 3 much larger doggie siblings and decided she could learn to ignore cats. She also immediately chose my 19-year-old son (who was only home from college on Christmas break) as her person and slept with him every night weenie-dog-style: burrowed under the covers. When the pandemic caused him to return home relatively early in 2020, Lily rejoiced that her doggie prayers had been answered.

Lily had strong opinions about most things. She rejected the fancy tiny dog beds I bought her, preferring to nap right in the center of the well-worn XL sized beds. Going out in the rain was out of the question, and so were crates and the dog stroller ( which she found insulting). She loved wearing her many sweaters in cold weather, going to work with me, and being carried around by my very tall son so that she could look down on everyone.

The house seems so quiet now, because although she spent much of her day napping, Lily wasn't shy about reminding us when it was meal time or time to go snuggle with her on the couch, which was her very favorite activity. She also loved her after-dinner Greenies , wandering around the yard with her nose down, rolling and wiggling on her back while making adorable grunting sounds, and hunting for rodents in the outbuildings.

Lily left us too soon in a tragic accident. I cannot find the words to describe how much I miss her and love her and would give anything to have her back. I do hope that anyone reading this might consider adopting a senior dog someday. They have so much love still to give.

Run free now my sweetest darling girl and I will see you at the Rainbow Bridge.