When Jasmina Lozar Povše first saw Lilly in a shelter during a dog rescue mission in Croatia, she didn’t think she was ready to bring home a new dog. Jasmina has suffered from debilitating asthma and allergies, sometimes barely being able to go outside. She felt she could not provide a quality life for Lilly. But when her friend returned to the shelter two weeks later and found Lilly still there, Jasmina knew she had to take her home. Lilly was covered with fleas and ticks, was in very poor physical condition, debilitated and scared. It took months for her to get back on her feet after sharing a house with Jasmina, but it was totally worth it.
Lilly was quick to return the favor. She pushed Jasmina to try to overcome her asthma and start living a normal life again. “She managed to get me out and take me for a walk,” says Jasmine Metro.co.uk. ‘That’s where I started to recover. ” Jasmina wrote on BoredPanda, “I immediately stopped taking the drug, I was able to breathe normally again and I had a new best friend for life.” It is clear that the two have become inseparable best friends.
Unfortunately, things started to change last October. Lilly doesn’t act like herself; She is comatose and seems to be in pain. Jasmina took her to the vet, but the diagnosis was not an easy one. In fact, they went to several different vets, and Lilly went through hundreds of exams. Lilly was tense like a champ. Jasmina wanted to recognize Lilly’s amazing attitude and strength. Everyone believes that such a cheerful dog will quickly recover.
If only things were going that way. “Every day is a fight and she doesn’t give up. Even if only once. Through hundreds of tests, visits with various vets, she didn’t even make a sound. Through her fight, I started taking pictures in the hope that I could show her a full recovery… Instead, I captured my hardest goodbye,” Jasmina wrote. While this may be the most difficult project Jasmina has ever worked on, it is probably one of the most beautiful projects we have ever seen. She chronicled Lilly’s struggle to prove her love and devotion to her canine companion.
“Lilly was my first dog, my first love and it saved my life,” says Jasmina. “When I adopted her, I had a severe asthma attack and she took me hiking every day – she cured me.” Despite the best efforts of Jasmina and many veterinarians, Lilly didn’t come up with a diagnosis until it was too late. Earlier this year, Lilly passed away from liver cancer. “My heart breaks to lose her and although I can’t let her go, I know I have to now. She will be in my heart (and on my skin) forever,” she told Metro.co.uk.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment for loving dogs is that their lives are so short. But as every dog owner knows, even the brief time we have with our dogs is worth our heartache. The pictures Jasmina took of Lilly are truly breathtaking and we hope they bring some comfort during this very difficult time.
