Honoring Benny

RIP sweet Benny

Several years ago, my parents had mourned the loss of their first corgi, my beautiful fluffy sister Audrey.  They had loved being corgi parents and decided they needed another corgi in their lives, so they began looking at rescue websites and talking with friends they knew in the corgi rescue world.

It was at about that same time that a huge, horrible puppy mill in Missouri was shut down, requiring the euthanization of over 1000 extremely sick dogs.  One of the few survivors of that terror was a little corgi boy with a disfigured face--it seems he'd been attacked by other dogs as a puppy and no one ever even othered to have his face treated.  My mama said as soon as she saw the little disfigured corgi boy, she fell in love with him.  She began making inquiries about the possibility of adopting him.

But mama was afraid that the little guy would not do well in our household...they already had the neurotic Sadie to deal with and heaven knows what kind of emotional problems the new guy would have.  My grouchy brother Claude the husky felt quite territorial about his home and my parents worried that bringing another male dog into the home might prove to be a problem.  They kept looking at other rescue sites and saw an extremely beautiful girl named Angel who was needing to be rehomed for the 3rd time.  Mama also made inquiries about her.  In the end, my parents chose to apply to adopt little Angel and not the little disfigured boy from the puppy mill.  That little Angel turned out to be ME; I got adopted by my parents and Benny Corgipants was adopted by the Medina family and we were both extremely fortunate corgis.  Mama and Benny's mama talked about how our lives were intertwined and how both families made the perfect choices!

The super ultra wonderful Angel, who became Lily!

Benny Corgipants' mother helped him become a very effective spokesdog against puppy mills. Benny's sweet face became THE face of puppy mills for people who had never really understood how awful these places could be.  Benny became a celebrity on the internet and brought awareness to a problem that needs to be stamped out in our world.

My friend Benny had been diagnosed with bladder cancer a year and a half ago.  Given only 6 months to live, Benny once again proved what a tough little guy he was by living a good life for a full year longer than the experts believed he would.  Benny lost his life this past week to the dreaded cancer and the world lost a sweet, determined little fighting spirit.

All of us, dogs and the people who love dogs, need to honor Benny by carrying on his fight against puppy mills where dogs are held as prisoners in unfit conditions, without proper care and without love.   I am so glad that Benny spent the last several years of his life in the care of his family, who adored him and who helped him become the best corgi he could be.  Frap on at the Rainbow Bridge, friend Benny, and we'll all see you when we get there!  Our deepest sympathies to the wonderful Medina family and the great folks at Corgi Connection of Kansas who loved Benny and made it possible for him to have a great life.

We love you like bacon, Benny.

That's all I've got for this week, folks.  My mama has a tummy bug and says she can't take anymore time out of her vomiting schedule to type for me.  Everyone please hug your corgi tight in honor of Benny and take care of each other.

Til next time,

Love ya,

Lily the Corgi

Couldn't resist another picture of me...back when I was much younger and thinner, on the day I came to my forever home.

*The pictures of Benny Corgipants were taken from his Facebook page.  I'm hoping Mama Bossypants won't mind that we pinched a few of her photos to make this memorial to Benny.