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The Story of Lilly & Lou Based on a true story
by Doriane Lucia, M.Ed.
CCB Publishing British Columbia, Canada
The Story of Lilly & Lou: Based on a true story
Copyright ©2008 by Doriane Lucia
ISBN-13 978-0-9809995-5-6
First Edition
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Lucia, Doriane
The story of Lilly & Lou [electronic resource] : based on a true story /
story by Doriane Lucia; [illustrated by Anthony T. DeVito].
Electronic monograph in PDF format.
ISBN 978-0-9809995-5-6
Also available in print format.
1. Dogs--Juvenile fiction. I. DeVito, Anthony T. II. Title.
III. Title: Story of Lilly and Lou.
PZ10.3.L964St 2008a j813'.6 C2008-903209-8
Editor: Lori Ada Jaroslow - www.loriadajaroslow.com Illustrator: Anthony T. DeVito - www.atdillustration.com
Print edition is printed on acid free paper derived from new growth trees.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Publisher: CCB Publishing
British Columbia, Canada
To Mick, Sadie & Bula
with Love and Gratitude
HEARTFELT THANKS TO…
The amazing group of people in New York City who helped rescue Mick and Sadie, continued to care about them and changed my life and their lives forever.
My mother, sister, family and friends for supporting my Humane Education mission and my late father for showing me the importance of understanding and respecting animals; he showed me that a true pack leader never needs to intimidate or hit an animal and that strong men do cry when their dog passes away.
To the earth angels (some of my dearest friends) who continually and courageously help animals in need, spending their hard-earned money… teaching me more about compassion every day and never make me explain what brings me joy… they just get it, and to the Animal Control Officers who go above and beyond to truly make a difference.
Lori for helping me bring this story to life and making it easier for me to relive it during the editing process, Tony for his creativity and talent, and especially to Paul Rabinovitch of CCB Publishing for his expertise and guidance, for making this dream a reality and for believing in this story and appreciating the importance of Humane Education.
Every animal who has blessed my life teaching me some of life’s most important lessons.
And finally, thank you to everyone who tries to make this world a brighter place especially when no one is looking.
CONTENTS
The Story of Lilly & Lou is captivating, heartwarming, and instructive. Doriane Lucia has written a story that children (and adults) will adore. At the same time, we all learn to care a bit more because of Lilly and Lou.
Zoe Weil
May 2007
Zoe Weil is the President of the Institute for Humane Education and author of Above All, Be Kind, Most Good, Least Harm and two children’s books, Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs and So, You Love Animals.
Part of me knows it’s time to get up and start the day and the other part of me hopes that this is just another dream. Maybe it’s really Saturday. My head feels heavy with sleepiness. I’m not sure if I can lift it off the pillow. One eyelid tries to hoist itself up so I can see the clock on the nightstand. Just as the neon numbers come into focus telling me that it’s 6:15 a.m., I feel a cold, wet nudge against my arm and I sense two eyes staring at me. How did she hear my eye open?
I finally manage to open both eyes and I see that Lilly has her front legs on the bed, and she’s stretching her little body as far as she can. My dog Lilly has a black muzzle with some gray in it and brownish, red fur on the rest of her petite body. She has huge, pensive brown eyes. Lilly practices yoga upon awakening. This morning her eyes seem to say… I’ve gone outside and taken care of business myself, I did The Downward Facing Dog, and I’ve been waiting patiently since 6:00 a.m., so do you think you could please GET UP ALREADY? We need to see what’s going on out in the world. Come on, Alicia, carpe diem; let’s seize the day.
By now, Lilly’s brother Lou has joined the morning ritual. Lilly and Lou look almost identical except that Lou is twice as big as Lilly. They both have thick fur and curly tails. I run my hand through Lou’s coat and in my fogginess I reach for my jeans, slide them on, throw on a tee shirt, grab both leashes, yell to Mom that I’m leaving and we’re off. I get to look at the tall trees against the clear sky. When Lilly and Lou sniff each morning it’s like they’re getting the morning news. If I pull them away mid-sniff, it would be like someone yanking a book out of my hand just as I get to the good part. I can almost see Lilly thinking, Hmmm, smells like the huge white poodle has been by. Now Lou runs over to get a whiff.
We go a few more yards when Lilly stops in her tracks for another sniff story. This one takes her awhile to decipher. She sniffs more and more, leading us further up the road. I think I know what’s going on in Lilly and Lou’s heads or maybe I’m superimposing my own thoughts on them. The important thing is that I know enough about dogs to know what they need each day. Suddenly, that cute puppy, Duke, comes our way with the guy who acts like he’s walking a tiger. There is a huge choke chain around the cheerful little puppy, and the guy tugs him and shouts orders. “Sit. Stay. Heal.” Just as Duke is getting a good sniff and trying to greet us, the drill sergeant yanks the dog away and doesn’t let us visit. But Duke always seems hopeful that one day he’ll get to stop and play with us. Both Lilly and Lou look at me and I imagine they are thinking … we love our life.
The three of us venture to Aroma Café. My mom lets me get breakfast there two times a week and today is our day. We love Aroma Café. Everyone there is so friendly to me and especially to my canine companions. We enter my favorite patio area where bougainvillea is bursting with bright pink flowers.
There is always a table filled with people who work on movies. There’s a nice teenage girl named Cynthia with long brown hair who always says hi to me. She told me she’s an intern working with