Lily is a Manchester Terrier mix which by itself is interesting but she's not from around here. She's from Puerto Rico.

She's a rescue dog in fact who was living on the streets. "We adopted her from a couple that went to Puerto Rico to visit some friends," said Mem Rippey, "(...) and they were very taken by the plight of the street dogs who are abused. They saw a lot of injured dogs, a lot of abandoned dogs, dogs who really needed a home and medical attention so they started this organization called AnimalsInNeed.

They live in Poulsbo and they have volunteers who go out and feed the street dogs and try to convince owners to treat their dogs better or give them up. Lily was one that was in a pack of street dogs and she followed the volunteer back to the car and as the volunteer was opening the door, she turned around and Lily was looking at her like, 'You can leave without me.' So she opened the door, Lily jumped in and the volunteer said, 'OK, I guess you're the one who gets saved today."

They shipped Lily in a crate to this area and Tom Owen and Rippey saw a picture of her online. "It was an instant connection. We just knew she was meant to be part of our family." That was four years ago.

Rippey is a yoga instructor and Lily has gone with her to classes. "She has probably several hundred hours of yoga philosophy training," said Rippey.
"We call her The Amazing Lily Bean, because she amazes us all the time," Rippey explained," It seems like she knows what we're thinking, what were about to do. (...) One thing that she does that amazes me is that if she's in a class that I'm teaching at the very end when people are resting, she seems to know the right person to pick. She goes over to them and lays next to their mat. She reaches her paw out and barely touches them. It's always somebody who says, 'Oh...it's just what I needed."

Owen continued, "When people are sick she seems to know it. She will spend time with them. She becomes their shadow. She doesn't need as much exercise. It's about being with and giving to that person."

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:

Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Animal Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

Photos may or may not be used and our "Pet Reporter" may be in touch with you to arrange to take a photo. Pets nominated will be chosen on the basis of uniqueness of the pet and the quality of the story and information submitted.