Hey...That's ...Lily by Patti Arrowsmith

Have you ever noticed those older couples whose children are grown and they now seem to have a NEW baby, their dog? Somehow, my husband and I have started to fit into this stereotype. Two years ago we became the proud “parents” of a golden retriever puppy, Lily, and now we are inseparable. We were so thrilled to find “Amazing Grace”, where we could bring our furry child to enjoy Topsail Island with us!

Lily delighted in running and fetching in the waves, chasing the birds, and visiting with strangers. When she was ready to go in the house for the day, we would clean her off with the hose and dry her before letting her back in the house. Once we had done that, we were NOT going to let her back out into the sand and water.

One night we got cleaned up to go out to dinner. My husband took Lily out front, away from the beach, to relieve herself before being left alone in the house. She was off leash, and while she was looking for the place with the right “karma”, my husband was taking the trash out. Well, she decided she needed to see what was on the other side of the dunes.

As I waited inside, I stood by the windows, lost in thought and admiring the beautiful view. The tide was out, and there was a massive amount of all sorts of birds on the hard packed sand, pecking for edible buried treasures. Suddenly, all of the birds rose as a unit, obviously startled by something. Usually humans didn’t seem to bother them, and as I puzzled the reason, a slightly crazed looking energetic golden retriever leaped into the scene, spinning wildly, enthralled with her power to cause such an exodus. Just as my mind seemed to be thinking in slow motion “Hey…that’s….Lily..”, she spied the water and raced into it. My husband appeared about then, chasing after her and trying to lure her out. She ran to him, with an expression of pure joy on her face. As he chastised her, he thought he could dry her off and sneak back in. “Don’t let your mommy know what happened”, I heard him say, as he followed her back up the deck stairs. Right about then he saw me watching the whole thing, rather bemused. As he tried to explain, we both burst out laughing. That was just the first day of lots of laughter. We also found we didn't have to worry about her when we were out.....she was so exhausted she didn't move from her favorite spot by the window. What great memories we will always have!