My beloved dogs, 3 shih-tzus, passed away years ago, having lived long and amazing lives. I thought of replacing them but never acted because they were “very had acts to follow.”

That changed last October when my husband and I were in Minnesota. Our friends, who breed Irish Red & White setters, shared they had a dog for “us.”

The dog had been bred by them in 2011 and placed in a rural home in the Midwest. She ended up at a kill shelter and was just brought back from a no kill rescue shelter in Colorado. She was supposed to be a hunting dog and was given up because she didn’t hunt.

When we met Lillie, she was acting wild and totally out of control. We understood she had been through a lot of stress, with no idea of where she was or what was going to happen to her. We decided to adopt her.

We put Lillie in the back seat of our car for the drive to Chicago. She was panicked. It took a few minutes to figure out that sitting alone and behind us, was not going to work for the eight hour ride.

So I joined her in the back seat and started petting her, trying to calm her fears and lessen her panting. It took hours to get her settled and I continued to sooth her as my husband drove us home.

By the time we got to our house, I knew I had found a new pal with big brown eyes, a beautiful red and white coat, and a very big nose sprinkled with adorable red freckles.

Miss “Lillie” was finally home.

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Submitted by Maryellen Klang – Winfield, Illinois