‘We Knew That Lilly Sent Him’: Stray Dog Finds Family Who Had Just Lost Their Beloved Beagle

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On February 21, our beloved beagle Lilly died of an enlarged heart in her sleep at the age of 13. We had rescued her eight years prior after she was found on the side of the road by my brother and his then girlfriend. They originally took her to his girlfriend’s father, but he stated that she was no good for hunting, so he would just shoot her and be done with it.

My brother was appalled at this and brought the dog home, where we instantly became attached to her. After taking her to the vet and finding that she was microchipped, they contacted the owners who said they didn’t want the dog anymore. That was all we needed to hear; from then on, she was ours.

She lived a wonderful, happy, spoiled life with us for eight amazing years. It was heart-wrenching when she passed, and we thought we would never get over it. One of our other dogs, a pit bull named Layla, became incredibly depressed after her death, refusing to eat, play, do anything. We thought she may never recover from the loss. That was until three months later when someone told us about this dog they had found wandering around in the woods by their home.

It was a dachshund mix, around a year old. It was love at first sight for my mom, who was mourning Lilly’s death worst of all. He was soaking wet from the rainstorm we were having, skin and bones, with a gigantic scar on his right shoulder. We knew that Lilly sent him to heal our hearts.

We named him Sherman, and he fits right in at home. He and Layla are best buds, and we have never seen her as happy as she is now. It is coming up on a year since Lilly passed away, and it still hurts to think of her sometimes, but knowing that she sent us our Sherman makes it a lot better. He needed us as much as we needed him.

RIP Lilly. We will always love and miss you.

Story submitted by Michelle Sharp from Rolla, Maryland.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!