The sweetest girl ever, Lilo Petunia Young, crossed over the rainbow bridge Sunday, August 16, at 10 years old.

Petunia was exceptionally hardheaded and mischievous but equally sweet and loving. My tubby girl was easily the best friend a girl could have ever asked for.

Lilo joined our family the month I started my freshman year of high school in August 2016. She ultimately went to college at Georgia Southern as well. She was a scholar, with a high school diploma and a university degree in fartology with a minor in begging.

Lilo comforted her mom, family and friends through ten years of rough times. This is her mom’s first time grieving without her baby turkey leg by her side in a decade.

Lilo, also called rugrat by her papa, was an avid chaser of people. She would dart across the house, biting at your heels in her youth. While her family joked that she ran around on broomsticks for legs, she hiked over 40 miles within just a few years, mainly in Georgia’s mountains.

She also was known for her stomach of steel and ability to steal from unsuspecting family members. Her puppy days were uncharted territory for her mother, grammy, aunts and uncle.

A few years before passing, she decided it was time for a sibling. She chose her brother, Stitch, in August 2022 and trained him to be like her in so many ways.

Lilo leaves behind a mother who will forever be grateful for their ten short years together, a brother who will miss stealing her food and licking her face, and a plethora of family members and friends who have cherished their time with her.

Ten years was far too short, but I don’t think any number of years with my girl would have been enough.

I love you, Lilo Petunia!