Pictures of Lily and Happy New Year

This is Lily. In brief, here's the story of Lily:

1) I spent summer 2006 in Mexico.
2) There are a lot of dogs in bad shape in Mexico.
3) That doesn't mean there aren't dogs in bad shape here in the U.S.--and people and creatures in bad shape around the globe--there are. I just saw very sad dog-related stuff in Mexico that haunted me.
4) And, when I was in Mexico two puppies were born to a wild dog outside the house I was staying in.
5) One puppy was stolen.
6) The other puppy died.
7) I buried the dead puppy and I wished it had a better life.
8) After I left Mexico, I got an e-mail from my friend--there was a little dog in bad shape in the street and the other dogs were beating it up. She didn't have money for a vet. Could I help? So I helped. And I asked her to name the dog Lily. Dunno why.
9) So, my friend got the dog fixed up and named her Lily.
10) And two weeks ago, my friend called me and said "I have a job in the U.S., are you ready for Lily?"
11) And I said, "Huh?" Because, no. I wasn't really ready for Lily. I was enjoying a comparatively carefree existence for the first time in my life. And it freaked me out because Lily looks like a 1/4-sized mini me version of my last dog. Looking at her picture made me very sad because my last dog had a very rough last year.
12) So I said, "Maybe somebody else needs Lily?"
13) And now, here I am in Montgomery, Alabama on New Year's Eve. With Lily. She is snoring.

Happy New Year to everyone who glanced at this silliness in '07. I hope that your '08 is full of laughs, good health, and secret toy prizes from gumball machines. (More dinosaurs to come soon in '08, I think...)