10/30/2026
I still remember the day that Speckles came to SoCo Rescue. She wasn't even two months old at the time and just a tiny little thing. How she came to be sitting all alone next to a shed in the backyard of a family's home has remained a mystery to this day. What was evident pretty quickly was that Speckles was in trouble and needed help immediately.
Whatever hardships Speckles had to endure over the first few weeks of her life had already begun to take a toll on her frail body and had her closer to death than life. In fact, the veterinarian we were using at the time took one look at Speckles and said "I wouldn't give a wooden nickel for this mutt" and strongly advised that I simply have her euthanized. Understanding fully the value of a "wooden nickel", I declined on the recommendation the of the good doctor, firmly believing that this pup's true value wouldn't be known for years to come.
That was in March of 2015.
Four months later and after an enormous amount of love and care, Speckles health had improved to the point that she was able to be among the dogs and puppies that we transported to Pennington, New Jersey area for an upcoming adoption event in June. But her first stop was to her foster home at the residence of Jennifer Hurley, SoCo's Chief Financial Officer and the "keeper of the gate" for all things related to SoCo Rescue in New Jersey.
At about that same time, Liliana Guerrero, who lived nearly 3 hours away in New York, became aware that Speckles was available for adoption. "Lilly" had a fondness for the Beagle breed and was immediately drawn to Speckles. Once her application was approved, Lilly made the long drive from her home to meet Speckles. From the moment they first met, Lilly knew that Speckles was meant to be her dog and Speckles knew that Lilly was meant to be her new "mom".
Over the next 11 years, Lilly and Speckles were inseparable as the bond between the two grew stronger with each passing day. All of the SoCo Rescue team, as well as anyone who knew Lilly, were treated to a number of social media post and pictures of Speckles, giving all a "front-row" seat into the wonderful life that Speckles had found with Lilly. It seemed as if everyday brought forth a new adventure and experience for Speckles, be that from trips to the beach, climbing a mountain or even Speckles just trying to find another one of Lilly's shoes that she could take custody of! Those updates gave me much reassurance that going against what our former vet recommended was clearly the right decision.
This past Wednesday morning, October. 28, as I was having my first cup of coffee and and doing a quick scan of messages and our social media pages, I saw the post that turned my day from a potentially happy one into a day filled with grief and sorrow. While I was accustomed to seeing post from Lilly on Facebook, that morning's edition didn't tell of Speckles latest adventure. Lilly's post was simple, to the point and clearly full of heartbreak. Speckles had crossed from this life into the next. I later learned that Speckles had been diagnosed with cancer just a week earlier, which caused her health to decline rapidly. While it was a heartbreaking decision to make, Lilly displayed just how much she truly loved Speckles by ending her suffering and pain by having her humanely euthanized.
I think I can speak on behalf of a number of people, including most of you who are now reading this post, when I say that, unfortunately, we've all stood with tears in our eyes and heart when having to make a similar decision concerning one of our former dogs. And it's from that unfortunate knowledge that our hearts and prayers go out to Lilly as she now begins to face life without the one that was so much more than just a dog.
Lilly's story is truly the epitome of the old say "One man's trash is another man's treasure", with a slight modification being that Speckles, who was once given less than the value of a wooden nickel, became worth more to a woman than all of the world's riches combined.
Thank you, Lilly, for the incredible amount of love that you gave to Speckles. There's no doubt in my mind that she loved you just as much, if not more.
The attached pictures are only a very small collection of those that Lilly has shared over the past 11 years of her life with Speckles.
Scott Bennett
President/CEO
Southern Comfort Animal Rescue, Inc.
