More pictures of Lily Bear

Lily Too

In the end we traded Lili in for Lily Too, a chow/golden retriever mix. She's here for a two week trial. So far so good.

Lili

Today I am taking the new dog, Lili, back to the Humane Society. If they won't take her - I will be honest about why she is coming back - she will have to go to the pound.

Lili is an extraordinary dog. So smart. So sensitive. She walks on the leash perfectly and doesn't sit on the forbidden sofas or beds. She's exceptionally beautiful. She's gentle and sweet with people and learned not to chase the cats quickly. She barely sheds and doesn't bark.

But on Sunday she jumped the fence in our backyard and attacked a neighbor and his dog for the third time. No one was hurt but the incident followed close on one last week that I saw. We were on the path near the dog park when Lili slipped away as I was leashing her and attacked a small dog. Her action was unprovoked and vicious. It took three of us to get her off the little dog who was screaming with fear.

I told Lili if it happened again, she was gone.

Then, three days later, just as we were leaving for a couple days visiting friends in Santa Monica, I realized that she hadn't come back from her short trip to the backyard. She bounded in when I called her in from the front of the house, but the phone and the doorbell rang monents later. Tom apologized to the neighbor's wife while I told the neighbor that Lili's time here was up. He was sorry, too.

The chore of taking her back hung over me during our visit south, and this morning there is no excuse. Sometimes you just have to face the truth and act on it even if it breaks your heart.

Some dogs have a vicious streak.