TWENTY

Yesterday was my niece Lily's 20th birthday.
I have three nieces and I love them all dearly but I talk about Lily a lot on my blog

because she is the one who shares my passion for animals.

She is also the one who would always come to my house to visit when she was tiny,

only six years old

and help me "clean" and "play" with my pets.

We would do a lot of things together, like go to garage sales

or once when I entered my elderly Maltese, dressed as Nemo, in a Halloween contest

she was the one who walked her down the catwalk in front of a crowd and all the judges.

I still remember afterwards, getting ice cream cones and sitting in the park

and she turned to me and in her little voice said -

"Today was a Good day!"

When she was nine, she would sometimes come help me at the kennel

on Sundays and Holidays.

She asked Doc when she could work there for real and he said when she was able to drive.

So, when she started driving, she reminded him of his promise.

She worked for a year as one of boarding girls but then started working 

up front as a vet tech assistant.

She is a such a hard worker and loves animals with all her heart.

She's in my "will" to take of my pets and/or their welfare when I die.

She loves sharks and wolves.

When she got a huge tattoo on her arm (which I tried to talk her out of)

I thought her Mom, my sister, would have a fit but

we all knew it was useless because Lily is headstrong and fearless.

But most of all, she loves her little dog.

He's a mix of Dachshund and Shih-tzu.

I love this kid with all my heart

and I can not believe the years have flew by so fast

and that she is now out of her teens.

Happy Birthday Lily!