Lily, the Dog Behind the Meme

https://lightshinerezdogs.org/Today, Patrick tells us about a very special dog named Lilly. 

Rez dog rescues:

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Rez Dog Rescue of Montana

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Underdog Animal Rescue and Rehab 

Turquoise Paw Rescue 

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Transcript

My dog Lily — she was a brown dachshund. We had one dachshund before, and he passed away. We thought about getting another one because we just missed having a dog around the house.

My mom said she knew somebody that was having some — her friend was having a litter. We decided to go get her. And then we had this tiny little puppy and, oh man, we just fell in love with her all over again.

We were thinking of a name — couldn't think of anything. Then my brother said right away, "We're calling her Lily." And that stuck.

She grew up, ran around the house, and we trained her. She was pretty obedient, too. She knew when she was in trouble. She had a habit of chewing on stuff — she chewed up my computer charger, some of our gaming cords. I said, okay, we've got to dog-proof this house. So we moved everything higher up.

When we'd give her a little punishment — maybe 20 minutes in her kennel — she'd come back out and be fine again. We'd just talk to her like a normal person: "Lily, you weren't supposed to do that, and now you have to face the consequences."

She made us laugh a lot. She was funny, she was crazy. When she played with her toys she'd just shake them around — you'd hear this little doo-doo-doo-doo — like, what is she doing? Turns out her little dog instinct was telling her to shake her prey. You'd just hear that little thumping noise, like a woodpecker.

She drew a lot of attention. We're Indigenous — we go to powwows — and we used to take her with us. She'd walk around the grounds. We even took her to out-of-state powwows. She was just really drawn to the gathering. We had to be careful though, because she'd go up to anybody and everybody.

One summertime she started getting sick — not eating. We took her to the vet; she had a minor stomach infection. They gave her antibiotics and she seemed to get better, so we brushed it off. But then it became almost chronic. She kept getting sick, wouldn't eat, and her ribcage was starting to show. We kept taking her back to the vet, same routine — medicine, then she'd be okay for a while.

She chased laser pointers — she loved that so much. My brother had one put away and said, "I'm going to try this on our dog." I went to my room, and from the hallway I just hear him laughing and laughing. I go in — she's running up and down the hallway after this little dot. So I joined in.

We gave her a break every night because she'd be panting so hard. Then we said, let's try something different — we set up a little obstacle course. Sure enough, she was jumping over everything, going down the hallway, touching the door, touching the wall, back and forth. She had herself a whole routine with that laser pointer.

SPEAKER 1  6:04

We were shopping around Casper — it's about a two-hour drive from here — and we went to Petco. It was around Halloween. We spotted these braids, like Native American braids. Some people would get offended by something like that, but for myself, I thought, you know what, we're going to use it.

I brought them home, put them on Lily — oh my gosh, we were just cracking up. She looked indigenous! Me and my brother Skylar got home from school one day and I said, "Let's go take a picture." We took a few. Then Skylar held her up and she looked right into the sun — boom. That was the moment I caught.

I saved it and posted it on Bebo — this was a long time ago — then on Facebook. My caption was: "For my people, I look to the future." People were just laughing, saying your dog is too funny.

I did not think it would take off the way it did. But honestly, it really took off after she passed away. It went viral — all over the place. She ended up on T-shirts, on memes. There was a Twilight-style meme — you know the one that says "her crush, her brother, her dad, and me" — and the "me" was Lily in the braids. There was even one that said "when the dog feels Indigenous enough to participate in ceremonies," with her sitting in a teepee with a person.

It was just a crazy moment — I never knew it would go viral like that.

SPEAKER 1  8:24

She got sick on us one night. She wasn't eating, but she was drinking water, so we assumed she was okay. She was very disoriented — not really moving. We thought it was her stomach again and planned to take her to the vet the next day.

But by the time we got to her kennel, she was no longer here. She had passed on.

It was a tough moment. It really was. My family was pretty devastated. We did a proper burial — we went out behind the hills, dug a good spot, and laid her there the right way.

It was shocking, because it wasn't me who found her. It was my brother Skyler. And it broke us. We're dog people — we've raised dogs most of our lives. We have more dogs right now, two outside and one inside named Twinkie. He's got health problems too. It's like we tend to pick the ones that need help more, I guess.

She had that impact on our lives.

ELYSE WILDE  10:19

What was it like to live without her?

SPEAKER 1  10:23

It was quiet. We didn't hear those little claws on the floor anymore. It just felt empty — like we lost a puzzle piece.

Time went on and we got used to the fact that she was gone. But then her photo started circulating more and more, and it just made us feel good again. We'd get lonesome for her sometimes. But the way we look at it now is that she's making people laugh, making people smile. That's the bright side.

Tribal people have a lot of humor too, and that's just what it is. I'd inform people — "You know, that's our dog" — and they'd say, "Oh my gosh, your dog's my hero. She made me laugh." She's on TikTok profiles, on Facebook profiles.

She was almost going to be a brand on a shirt, but I was worried about copyright issues, so I said go ahead and use it. They ended up taking the whole article down though, and I never found out who it was. But yeah, she was almost a brand.

ELYSE WILDE  12:02

What do you think of now when you think of Lily? What comes to mind?

SPEAKER 1  12:06

She was a really unique dog. A lot of dogs are scared of sticks, but she had no fear of that at all. She'd go straight at a swinging branch — we'd let her play with them and she'd jump up and play.

I don't know how to fully describe it. It was just loving, caring. And for tribal people, laughter is good medicine. Simply smiling will make someone feel a little better. That's why they say appreciate the small things.

I really think she's bringing a lot of joy to a lot of Native people — even people who are struggling, people who are unhappy, people who carry a lot of trauma and anxiety in their lives. The moment they see that picture, they just laugh. And that means everything.

ELYSE WILDE  13:24

That picture of Lily was recently the face of the Rez Dog exhibit at the Museum of Indigenous Peoples in Prescott, Arizona.

SPEAKER 1  13:32

Yeah, I saw that on Facebook. The exhibit talked about the reservation — not just about Native people, but about the population of rez dogs, what they do, the dangers they can present. I mean, they can be pretty scary on the res — they'll chase you for a mile.

So I gave the museum a call, asked to speak to the director. The receptionist took a message. A couple days later he called me back. I told him, "That's my dog." At first I think he was worried he was going to get in trouble.

But I flipped it around. I said, no, it's perfectly fine that you used that photo — it drew attention to your museum. He said he was really glad it happened, and he sent me two T-shirts.

ELYSE WILDE  15:09

What did Lily teach you?

SPEAKER 1  15:11

Lily taught me to appreciate every small moment. Growing up on the res, I was always about rushing — get it done right away. But the moment she was here, my time slowed down. I was tending to her, feeding her from when she was just a tiny puppy. I slowed down on a lot of things.

I didn't have as many anxiety attacks. She was the reason I took my time. Even with beadwork — I do beadwork — I used to rush and mess up, rush again, mess up again. But the moment Lily came into our lives, I slowed down. I took my time.

That's what she taught me. She taught me how to appreciate the small things and the time that's so precious to us. How we need to take time to breathe. If you run too long, you're going to fall over. You've got to rest. Resting is important.

ELYSE WILDE  16:38

If there is an afterlife where we get to see our pets again — what would you say to Lily when you first see her?

SPEAKER 1  16:45

I would say: Lily, you made a lot of people happy. A lot of people loved your photo. You're the face of a museum, the face of memes, the face of profile pictures. You made a lot of people happy, Lily.

And I'd like to add — if you have dogs, you know they're the most loyal creatures you'll ever have. They know when you're sick. They know when you're feeling sad. They know everything about you. They'll wait for you forever.

They're the most patient creatures on this earth. They're the most loyal ones. I noticed that when I see someone walking down the road with a dog beside them, and I sit there and think — that dog is amazing. And that person is very lucky to have someone like that.

I wouldn't say "something" — I'd say "someone," because they are a living person to me. They are part of us.

ELYSE WILDE  17:51

Lily wasn't a rez dog, but to many people, that picture of her represents rez dogs. We will link several rescues in the show notes that work exclusively on reservations to help rez dogs get spayed and neutered and potentially find homes.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share with your friends. If you have a story about a pet you've lost that you'd like to share, please send an email to deadpetsofficial@gmail.com.

Dead Pets is a Wild Media Industries production. It is written and hosted by me, Elyse Wilde.

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." — Anatole France

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