Lily, her story

This may jump around a bit because there are several different avenues involved in Lily's story.
Lily is my female white german shepherd, she is about 4-5 yrs old.

I believe in signs, in gut instinct, I believe in God, Angels, Spirits and Guides etc.
A friend told me it was time to bring more feminine and white into my life & that AA Gabrielle was with me and guiding me. ( remember, I did say this was going to jump around)

Maxine my beautiful sable german shepherd of 14 1/2 years crossed the Rainbow Bridge in February 2007. Kenyon, my giant male white german shepherd ( from Rescue) was alone and I felt he needed a new sibling. I have fallen in love with the white german shepherds so I thought about possibly getting a white puppy if they became available through White Paws German Shepherd Rescue (whitepawsgsr.com).

As luck would have it I didn't have to wait long, there was a puppy named Gaby. Oh, I thought, a sign. Gabrielle=Gaby.
I emailed Nancy at White Paws expressing my interest in adopting her but it was not meant to be, she had just been adopted that day at a showing. Okay, then maybe I should try fostering a dog until another becomes available.
It just so happened that WPGSR ( white paws) was notified about a female white GS in the Racine animal shelter, would I be interested, her name was Ariel? Funny how things work out, I had a trip planned to the Racine area that week on Wednesday, perfect, I could stop by the shelter and meet her. I had her picture, I connected with her via Reiki over the weekend and could feel her very clearly. I knew that she was a good girl and that she was open to me.
On Monday morning I did something I never do, I decided to turn on the tv and watch the morning show. Within a minute there was Ariel the mermaid, yes, there was my sign.

I sat down for work, turning on the computers I noticed I had an email from Nancy. She told me that Ariel was going to be euthanized that day because she was aggressive over the weekend. I immediately contacted Nancy and asked her to tell the shelter to wait, that I would go that day to meet her. Luckily I had a manager who loves animals as much as I do and she understood the urgency. I flew through the back roads of Wisconsin, it was approximately an hour and 15 minute drive, I sent Reiki to Lily the whole time. I made a phone call to my Reiki instructor/Animal Communicator but had to leave a message. I was doubting myself, did I get the right message about Lily, I would have to figure it out on my own. As I was driving I thought about the date, it was June 9, 2008. Oh hey, it was my 4 year anniversary of finding my breast cancer. This would be Ariel/Lily's lucky day too.

I finally made it to the Countryside shelter. I could feel the fear and sadness of all those animals. I was brought to Ariel/Lily right away, she was in quarantine. She was so scared. I looked at her and told her "you know me", she came right out and let me put the leash on her. There was no aggression, just uncertainty. Animals "know" , and she knew I was her only chance. We went out to a small yard, I released the leash and I let her know that I trusted her. She was too scared to even eat liver treats. We talked, I told her that she would be coming home with me, what to expect etc. I went back in the door, walked her to the front desk and told them that she was coming with me.
I then found out some details on her, she had run away from her home, the owners could not afford to bail her out. She had given birth to a litter within the past month. She had puppies at home but she ran away. She had never been walked, she did not have any toys, she lived in a kennel and was let out to potty, had never been to the vet...are you getting the picture.

As soon as I got her into my Escape, she settled right in. She was happy, excited but still a bit unsure.
I stopped at a burger king on the way home and bought her a burger, she loved it. We had lots to talk about on the drive home.
When I got home my kids were mad at me, what was I thinking? we did not need another dog , blah, blah, blah.
That quickly passed as she warmed up to them and they learned her story. I shouldn't even have to tell them that if she didn't come home with me she would have been put down. How could I walk away knowing that.
They decided to rename her Lily. Lily because she was white and her new home was her rebirth. On a side note, Susan, my name, means Lily.

It was easy to see that she had been abused, badly. Lily was a very nervous, anxiety ridden dog.
She had lots of accidents even though she knew to go outside. She warmed up to Kenyon right away and followed him around like a puppy. I had her for 2 weeks and then it was time to bring her in to get spayed. Because she was still considered a foster she was going to be spayed at an animal shelter about 35 miles from me. I dreaded leaving her there because of the vibes. I didn't want her to think I was abandoning her, putting her in the holding cage and hearing her cry was very emotional. I promised her I would be back the next day and I was. I was there as soon as she was ready for release. But she really wasn't ready. She was soaked in blood. Her wound was not completely healed and she was leaking blood. The vet tech tried to seal it with more glue. They told me I should leave her until she healed but I couldn't. I didn't want to leave her because I promised her, because I was afraid that she would not be properly watched over. Gut instinct told me to bring her home.

It was a rough month following her surgery. Her incision healed nicely except for one spot, it kept leaking. I brought her to my vet, who thought she had an infection. She finally healed and I could take the body wraps off.
I do want to digress. When I brought Lily back home, and mind you she just had surgery, she jumped up on my bed and gave me that look. It is that same look I get to this day when she is on my bed. That look tells me "my bed, my home". She was telling me that she wanted to stay, that this was her home.

I have had Lily since June 9, 2008. For approximately one year she had accidents, pooped and peed on the carpet or somewhere in the house, every day. She knew it was wrong but for some reason she could not help herself. It was frustrating but I had lots of patience, she was meant to be with me and it eventually worked itself out.

Lily is a follower. She worshiped Kenyon and she mourned his passing as much as I did. But then she blossomed into the dog she is now. She found herself and her confidence.
When I brought Lena into the home it was a brief set back because she didn't know her place. At first she bowed down to Lena. But then slowly but surely she retained her confidence and let Lena know that she was the alpha, this was her home first. After a few battles and blood shed, Lily emerged the alpha and it has been a wonderful compromise.

As I sit on my bed writing this story, I have Lena on my left and Lily on my right. Sharing space, sharing momma and most importantly they are at peace because they are loved and secure.

Give rescue and shelter animals a chance. Have room in your heart for an older animal, patience and understanding goes a long way. In time they will blossom and fit right in, just give them the chance to show you they can.


P.S- about that earlier note to bring the feminine and more white into my life- it was meant for Lily.
Love those messages and signs!