Give me the dog with a kink in his tail
The one with a missing eye
The one whose ears flop when they should stand up
The one whose face makes me cry.
&#151 Anonymous

I met Lily Bear, this 13-1/2-year-old darling, two weeks ago, and was immediately struck by her pluck. She didn’t let a little thing like a missing leg stop her from doing what she wanted to do. I got all self-help-book philosophical for about three seconds, and in those three seconds managed to pack in a whole lot of self-chiding about how I’ll become a hermit for a week if my nail polish chips or I can’t find my lip gloss.
About a year ago, Lily Bear had cancer in her leg, and amputation was the only way to stop it from spreading. Since then, she’s been in perfect health — except for another growth on the other side of her body: a partially formed parasitic Corgi head named Chauncy.
“I don’t mind it at all,” Lily Bear said with a smile. “I just wish he’d grown on the side of the amputation! A little balance would be nice.”
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P.S. Yesterday would have been Sara’s birthday. She would have been the sweetest 16 ever. Instead of hugging her, I got to hug Titian, whom I met at a pet supply store, where his mom and dad were buying him a birthday present of shoes that he did not seem pleased to receive.