When Lily had a stroke, I thought she was going to die and I was completely distraught. She was my first dog and was the smartest dog I had ever met. She did whatever I asked of her and was by my side all the time. As Lily’s health declined, I became worried about her sister, Layla. They had been together since birth so what would Layla do if Lily was no longer around? I naively thought we should get another dog to keep Layla company after Lily passes. That’s how Wiley came to live with us. He was a leftover from a litter and had been determined not to be “show quality.” Plus, he was seven months old and scared of everything. After having Lily, a dog who was scared of nothing, it was extremely frustrating trying to get him to do anything. As Lily lay on her bed slowly dying and unable to stand or eat by herself, I tried to train a very resistant Wiley. To top it off, Layla hated him.
I could see why Layla didn’t much like her new companion. He kept getting sprayed by skunks. He managed to get poop ALL OVER himself. He constantly had this confused look and would not get into his crate. The phrase “I thought poodles were supposed to be smart” came up often. But, my son loved him and they liked to play hide and seek throughout the house. As they ran up and down the stairs, Lily would lift her head up from the bed and watch. Wiley kept coming to Lily and tried to play with her. One day, she pulled herself up and started playing with him. Each day she grew stronger and stronger and soon she was playing with him in the yard. He was the playmate that she had always wanted.
I believe that if Wiley hadn’t come to live with us, Lily would have died four years ago. They became great friends and played with each other often, even as Lily got older and weaker. Lily passed away about five months ago right before her 14th birthday. After she died, Wiley laid on her bed for a week. The house seems empty without her here. But, we still have Wiley. He helped give me extra time with Lily and I’ll always be grateful for that. Now I cannot imagine our house without him in it.
It had taken me a while to warm up to Wiley because I had thought he would be Lily’s replacement, but he wasn’t like Lily at all. At first, that was disappointing to me, but as I got to know him and his vastly different personality, I started accepting him for who he was and appreciating his strengths. He is incredibly loving, fun and playful, and protective of me.
There is no way to replace Lily, but I don’t actually want to replace her. Lily was special in her own way, just as Wiley is special in his and there is enough room for additional love. Love can grow and doesn’t have to be a replacement. People often think they know what they want or need in a pet or person, but Wiley has taught me to be open to learning to love different people (or pets) in different ways. You never know… those differences might surprise you.
