Stahlke Adoption

The Story of Fly

Lila and her dog walking the perimeter of campus--
That's a familiar sight to anyone at Concordia. Jonathan and I met Lila and Allie on our first day at Concordia over fifteen years ago. Dog people get to know each other very quickly.

Shortly after Allie died, Jonathan drove Lila to an animal shelter to bring home a beautiful border collie. She named her Fly, after the dog in the movie Babe. For about twelve years, we all witnessed Lila walking Fly at least four times a day, often for great distances. Even as Fly aged and struggled with arthritis, the pair of them kept going, just at a slower pace.

Last week, Lila fell ill and didn't teach her classes for many days. But she kept walking Fly. I briefly considered offering to watch the dog until Lila felt better, but decided against it. Fly's companionship was too important for Lila, even during illness.

Lila's brother stayed with her last Monday into the evening. He asked to spend the night, but she refused. "I'll just walk Fly around the block and then go to bed." One of the last things she did was to care for her beloved companion.

The next morning, as Jonathan approached the Concordia campus, he saw police cars and an ambulance in front of Lila's condo building. Shortly after arriving at his office, he learned that her brother had found her dead. Jonathan telephoned me with the shocking news, and I immediately left work to attend the chapel service at Concordia. En route, however, Jonathan and I discussed the possibility of caring for Fly. Jonathan walked over to Lila's apartment to find out if we could help. Lila's brother gave us the privilege of taking Fly into our home.

Jonathan found that someone had leashed up Fly and brought her to the grassy courtyard in front of Lila's home. The dog lay on the grass, unmoving. Many people came and went, and Lila's body was taken away, and then only Jonathan and Fly remained. Whenever he approached her, she'd commence barking and threatening to nip until he backed off. An hour later, I arrived but had no further luck. I couldn't even stroke her without causing a flurry of barking. Fly knew Lila was gone, but had determined to continue her duty.

After another forty-five minutes, we coaxed her to a standing position with small tastes of my bologna sandwich. She was quite hungry, either from her medication or from not eating for a while, and the sandwich helped her to trust us. But I think she finally just accepted that we were now her new caretakers. From that moment, she walked with us and accepted our touch. We lifted her into our car, the same one she had ridden in so many years ago, and brought her to our home.

I spent the afternoon in the yard with her and Kentucky. After only five minutes, the two dogs became friends. Fly lay in the yard, barking non-stop every time I went out of sight. Sometimes, when alone, she would also howl. I know she misses Lila. So do we.

posted by Stahlkes @ 6:26 PM