Lilly

Lilly, the Little Dog that Could

By Joshua Wheelon

I woke up when the sun was just barely beginning to shine in the bed. I got up from my small bed at the foot of my master’s bed. I shook for a bit to wake myself up and ran over and looked at the window a couple of feet above my small, furry frame. I ran over to the bedroom door, which was creaked slightly open and looked at my gorgeous self in the mirror.

My name is Lilly. I am what my master calls a Miniature Schnauzer. A small dog with a great big heart. I am without a shadow of doubt, the luckiest dog in the world. My master, Elena, is a wonderful human being who cares for me deeply. She has been lonely ever since her husband, Herb, passed away two years ago, but I do my best to make her happy.

I ran out of the bedroom and down the steps to the bottom floor and the first thing I noticed was that the dog door was left open again. I’d better check and make sure no intruders came in while we were sleeping. I ran into the kitchen and saw nothing there. Went under the couches and found nothing there. And finally, I checked behind the entertainment center. No intruders.

I ran upstairs, back into the bedroom and put my paws up on the bed. I knew that the best way to wake her up was making some noise so I did.

Yip, yip, yip.

Nothing happened. She still lay there on her bed, snoring like a bear.

Yip, yip, yip.

The snoring stopped and she finally opened her eyes and looked over at me. I saw a big smile come across her face as she rolled towards me and then extended her right hand over to pet my head. As she sat up, I raced for the door and pushed the large, white barrier completely open. She put on her slippers and walked over to the door and began to make her way down the stairs. I was so excited for I knew she was about to make me some breakfast.

Elena started the machine that gave her a warm beverage in the morning and then opened the fridge. The elderly woman took one of her small round objects, white in color and cracked the oval shaped thing and poured the liquid yellow contents onto the round object she had on an object she referred to as an oven. Then she took out my pieces of meat and put them in the small silver bowl that had been left on the counter. Elena then put the rest of my meat up and opened up the pantry. From the middle shelf she pulled a small container of dry cookies, that’s what she called them anyway. Then my gray-haired master set them on the counter, opened the lid and then used the small white scoop inside to put some of the cookies into my bowl. She set the bowl down and I raced over and began to scarf down my food, white she used a long, black object to scoop the yellow liquid, which was now white with a yellow center onto a plate, which she grabbed from the cabinets above.

Elena made her way around me and went over to the living room as she reached her chair, I noticed something different. With her left hand she held her chest tight and then she dropped the plate onto the ground and Elena fell, next to the chair. She tried to reach for the object she sometimes talked into on the small table but could not do so.

I raced over to her and nuzzled her hand. But she could not reciprocate by petting me. Instead, she cried out loud.

“Help, help.”

I wasn’t sure what to do, but then I turned and saw the dog door. Still not closed. I raced towards the door and ran out onto the front steps. I saw a couple of young boys playing on their bikes wearing t-shirts and shorts. I raced over and tugged at one of their heels.

Yip, yip, yip.

But one of the boys told me to shoo and they continued to ride their bikes way. I then turned to see a young woman jogging. She had blonde hair and wore a long sleeve black shirt and long pants with buttons running down them. I noticed that the woman had some white objects in her ear as I raced towards her.

Yip, yip, yip.

But she did not even acknowledge me. I could not understand why no one would help. I was about ready to give up, when I noticed a young man, with dark skin walking down the sidewalk close to my master’s house. He had a white polo, and tan slacks and wore glasses. I ran over and stopped in front of him.

Yip, yip, yip.

“Hey there little guy.” He bent down and patted me on the head. “Who do you belong too?”

I ran over to my house and stood in front of the window. He walked over and looked in the window. Instantly he raced over to my door while pulling a black object out of his pocket and talking on it. He lifted the welcome mat and found a spare key. He unlocked the door, pushed the door opened and made his way inside where he knelt next to my master Elena. He helped her lie down on her back and then began to rub her chest with one hand while setting the black object on the floor nearby.

“What’s your name, ma’am?” He asked as he began rubbing her chest with his other hand as well.

“El-Elena Holmes.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Around 10 minutes.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventy-two years old.”

“Okay. Help is on the way.” He assured her. “I’m just going to keep doing this until they arrive.”

I was so happy that I managed to find someone who could help her and know what to do. Elena survived that day and was with me till my very last day on this earth. I just hope she finds another dog that will help her out as much as I did, if not more.