Lilly
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Hi! My name is Lilly (aka Lily Bear, Little Bear, and Cutie Pants), and I am a ridiculously adorable, sweet, loving, and very smart, 2-1/2 year-old, 45 pound, spayed, female Border Collie mix!
Quick Fact Sheet:
- Breed: Border Collie mix
- Age: 3.5 year old
- Weight: 45lbs
- Spayed: Yes
- Dogs? Yes
- Cats? Yes
- Children? No
- Special Notes? Been in foster care for *2 years*! Also, see medical section and personality below.
Background
I was rescued from an overcrowded KY shelter when I was only 4 months old and have been here in foster care with CDR ever since. When I was first rescued by CDR, their nice vets found that I had a previously fractured pelvis (consistent with being kicked, hard) and one of my ears appears to have been ½-cut off with scissors. Clearly, my first few months of life were rough, but you’d never know it, as I am the happiest, sweetest, most adoring and adorable girl around!
Personality
I am a super friendly, happy, playful and affectionate girl! Everyone always says how much they love me and how sweet I am. I love attention of all sorts…I love being petted and cuddled, having my belly rubbed, giving and getting kisses, and playing all sorts of games! My tail goes “swish-swish-swish” when you look at me or come over to hang out with me and I’m very responsive to any type of affection you give me…if you kiss and pet and cuddle me, I don’t just lay there and soak it in, I kiss and cuddle and pet you back!
I am also smart! I have graduated (with flying colors) 2 basic obedience classes and also did well at agility! I am terrific at "sit, down, wait, high-five, back-back-back, touch, and watch!" I love learning and am very eager to please you (and get treats!).
I can be a little bit nervous with strangers (especially if they are staring at me!) until I have had a chance to get to know them a bit. When I was younger, I was terrified of kids (in the age range of 4-10 years old) and also of short, heavyset blonde women--I used to bark at them frantically and genuinely seemed utterly terrified. The rescue folks think that maybe it was a short, heavyset blonde woman and her kids who cut off my ear and kicked me hard enough to break my pelvis. As I got older, I seemed to do better with children, but I had 2 very weird incidents (1 involving a child) that might indicate that I still can get very stressed around kids. I can tell you about those incidents if you want to learn more about me!
Favorite Activities
I love chasing, pouncing on, and playing with my rope toys and my stuffed animals and I have lots of fun playing tug of war with my foster parents. I am fantastic at “fetch” and love fetching toys, balls, sticks, and really just about anything you are willing to throw. If you get distracted, I sweetly nudge you with the item to remind you that it’s time to throw it again! And while I love interacting with you, if you’re busy, I can entertain myself. I find a toy and throw it up in the air, or I run around the yard discovering sticks to play with (and then prancing around with them proudly hanging out of my mouth). I’m also happy to nap! My foster parents say I do about a zillion things that make them laugh!
I love going for walks on leash and love hikes on trail. I occasionally go jogging with my foster mom, and like a couple of miles, but don't seem interested in going much farther. I walk well in a Sense-ible harness (but do pull a bunch without one).
Co-habitation
I get along great with other dogs (big & small) and also with cats. I live with 5 other dogs at present, and I love playing chase, am great at doggy wrestling, and I can adapt my play style for “rough and tumble” playmates, and also for more gentle play styles. I have gone to doggy daycare quite a lot, and everyone says I am terrific with all the people and the dogs! I do have a few slightly I irritating (to the home dogs) habits, like I think I need to “round the other dogs up” when we all run out into the fenced yard, but it’s not too bad and my foster mom is helping me to learn that it’s not my job to do this, and that actually the other dogs prefer it if I mind my business! I bark quite strongly at other dogs who I don’t know when I see them out on leashed walks, but am great when I actually get to meet them.
Medical Concerns/Special Needs
I am super healthy but do have one chronic medical condition and probably will for life. The vets were never able to figure out with certainty why (though some think it might be nerve damage from my early pelvic fracture), but I have had a significant problem with urinary incontinence since I arrived (it’s much better now…keep reading!). Aside from the housekeeping inconvenience of a dog who leaks urine, this was a serious medical concern because my leaking caused me to have nearly constant urinary tract infections, which over time, could lead to grave or even life-threatening medical conditions. After over a year of diagnostic evaluation at Cornell and trials on many medications, I finally got a surgery that improved things significantly! I do still leak (thus my adorable diapers and nickname “cutie pants,”) but since the surgery, and in conjunction with some daily medication, the leaking is much, much less than it was before and is easily managed by my wearing doggy diapers. The other good news is that my UTI’s are now being successfully controlled by me taking a low dose of antibiotics nightly, and we are all hopeful that this will continue!
Summary
I am an all-around incredibly fabulous dog! I am very smart, learn things super quickly, and am incredibly fun-loving and affectionate. I’m all about play and affection and loving life and everyone in it! I know I am a slightly special needs girl due to my diapers, but I am so wonderful, and for the right person (who doesn’t mind a little extra care-taking), I will be your super beloved, soul-mate dog!
If you are interested in me, please read about the adoption process today and live EITHER within 30 minutes of Ithaca OR very close to Syracuse, Binghamton, or Owego. We do home visits on every applicant, and can't do home visits where we don't have local volunteers.
