TIGER LILYWell, I cannot believe it has been almost a year and a half since our Tiger Lily was adopted. And, I can't believe that I am that far behind on adoption stories. Ok, so I am much farther behind than a year...but trying desperately to get caught up! Tiger Lily was one of our most memorable girls, with one of the most spectacular personalities we have seen in some time! She stole her foster mom's heart right from the get go. Diane Gonzalez was called by the Burlington County Animal Shelter in New Jersey, to retrieve this beauty, who had come to the shelter as a stray. Lily looked as though life on the road had been quite the challenge, and the first order of business was a bath and blow dry. Her coat was terribly matted and Diane worked tirelessly to restore it, and avoid the dreaded shave job. |  |
Tiger Lily and James | Lily spent the better part of the summer with Diane, and her family, treating them to a wide array of fantastic gymnastics...Lily is a natural born agility dog! Lily, and Diane's son, James, became fast friends, and she continued to blossom in Diane's home. |
| Finally, the right adopters turned up in Massachusetts. Charlie and Colleen were eager to add a second dog to their family, which included the beloved Claus. The adoption went quite well, and Charlie has been kind enough to keep us updated on Lily's progress. His reports portray one of our greatest success stories. Charlie and Colleen certainly have had challenges with Lily, and they have really stepped up to the plate to demonstrate commitment and problem solving skill. Their story shows that anything is possible through patience, persistence and love. |  |
 | September 23, 2006 Hi Denise and Diane: Lily is still doing fine. She has A LOT of energy. Even after taking her for 1 - 3 mile walks she wants to play fetch.I have discovered that a 2 mile run will wear her down (a bit) but it does me too! I guess she's motivation to get my butt in better shape. The issues you told me about are coming out. All other dogs (not just girls) we meet on our walks she doesn't like. Recently we met a Rotweiler and and American Bulldog and Claus was having a grand time meeting new friends and she would do nothing but growl at them. She was easy to control so I had her sit while Claus made his new friends but I'm thinking to myself "Do you want them to eat you? At least pick a fight with someone in your weight class" ha ha. |
The other issue we knew about is random (not all the time so it's hard to tell when she'll do it) but car lunging is an issue. I've narrowed it to load cars and trucks - she hates loud moving things. I discovered this because she hates my coffee grinder and my blender and then noticed it was always load cars that triggered her. But those issues don't even cast a shadow on the sweetness she gives. She is very loving and has a way of making you go "awww" a lot. She has adjusted to Claus and 99% of the time they get along fine - they are competitive with ball playing. :-) She really likes sleeping with us (but I'll tell you our king bed has never felt so full with two people and two dogs) :-) Well, that's the news for now. I can say she was a great fit to our family. My wife and I are very happy with our two "children". Thanks, Charlie |  |
 | Oct. 3, 2006
Hi Denise,
Lily has had her first grooming - we use Doggie Boutique in Brockton. The owner, Debbie, did all the work on her and Claus. She said Lily didn't like one of the "shampoo men" but was totally fine with her...nails and all!! SO now she's a pampered pretty girl. Walking has improved tremendously - I expect to have her at the same level as Claus (98% no pull) within a month or so. (This is true; she is a great walker now! 08/07) Jumping at cars has improved also, maybe once a week when I am not looking. (Never anymore!! 08/07) Her only problem now...and this one's kind of developed...is that she hates everyone but us. No one can come in our house male or female without her causing a fit. She can be calmed to stop barking AND as long as the people do NOT touch her she will be fine but if they try to pet her she freaks like I've only seen on the Dog Whisperer. So we have been making on the spot corrections but I feel this is a dangerous issue so we are hiring a dog trainer to help her through her new social problem... we'll be in touch Charlie and Colleen |
12/16/2006 Hi Denise, Lily is such a lovable girl. We took her to training (Canine College in Holbrook) and she graduated with her "Basic Training" degree. Very easy for a smart girl like her and I tried telling them that she knows the commands but is group shy so we had to start at the beginning. Well, the puppies in that class were a mixed bunch. She seemed to tolerate the ones close to her size but didn't want anything to do with the big German shepherd or a huge Newfoundland!! She would growl and bark to keep them at bay...which she also did with the trainer but after a few visits got over it. We have noticed one thing: even though I'm the pack leader and the one who disciplines both her and Claus, she is my girl. She loves to get love from Colleen but spends most of her time following me around and trying to be close to me. So she is filling her role as "my" dog very well (Claus has always been Colleen's dog) |  |
 | Again, we are very pleased that we found her and your website. On her health, she has gained a few pounds (weighing in at about 26.5, 2 pounds up from when we got her,) but she looks great! We've had her groomed twice now so she can remain a pretty girl. We are concerned about her teeth, they were very tartar caked when the vet first checked her and I have a call in today because she has a loose tooth which has me concerned that she would be losing teeth at only 5 years old. So I will keep you up to date Charlie and Colleen |
12/21/06
Hi Denise I wanted to let you know that Lily will be having surgery tomorrow. We noticed that she had a really loose tooth in the front (one of her top front teeth) and when I took her to the vet she noticed a few more. We have no idea what caused this but the vet will be removing any bad teeth (we guess at least 3) and cleaning and polishing the rest. It will be a nervous day for us so keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I'll let you know more details as I get them. Take care and Merry Christmas! Charlie and Colleen |  |
 | 12/24/06 Hi Denise OK, here is the update. Lily survived her surgery but a lot of her teeth didn't. Beside the one that we knew was loose, the vet surgery team discovered 6 more that were decayed to the point of no return so in all 7 teeth were pulled. She was also missing 3 teeth in the front so little Lily is now without 10 teeth. The 4 upper and lower front teeth and 2 top molars are now missing. However, the rest of her teeth now look great. They cleaned and polished her other teeth and give them a good prognosis for the future. She was a little groggy after the surgery and a little edgy towards Claus but all in all she was a trooper. The next day she was back to her normal fun loving "let's play ball now" attitude so our household is back to normal just in time for Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. God Bless, Charlie and Colleen |
August 6, 2007 Hi, Denise, Here is more on Lily's success story. She is really turning out to be a joy - what a sweetheart - most of the time 98% ANGEL but that does leave 2% devil!! We discovered early on that she is very territorial and would "attack" people's feet if they tried to leave. Very interesting that people would meet her and think she's cute until they tried to leave! She also became very content with just Claus as the only other dog in her life and became hostile towards other animals and unfortunately strangers. It was very strange having a dog that we loved and loved to be loved by us, so affectionate, but we could never show her off because she became lunatic Lily!! She is a love to Colleen and me and really loves having an older brother (Claus) to torment. We sent her to an obedience school and saw a little progress so we went out and found a private trainer - WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! We learned that Lily has a lot of alpha tendencies but with lots of structure she has really been able to settle down and meet new people and dogs without too much fuss or commotion. She still likes to think she can "guard" the family but with a quick snap or command she falls back into sweet little Lily. The trainer said that without knowing her history and her time before Eskies Online, she probably had a rough life and some pretty hairy spots but she is really eager to please and is starting to act like a carefree dog who knows she's loved! Lily and Claus (our older dog; he'll be 12 this year!) get along just like brother and sister; they enjoy playing together but Lily can really outlast him! Thank you again Eskies Online for giving us the chance to give Lily a better life! It will be a year for us on Sept. 15. Charlie and Colleen |  |
