White Rock neighbor Jackie Froeber thought her 10-year-old pug Steven B. would love having a sister. His mother had just given birth to her last litter, and his half-sister Lily Belle needed a home. “He likes to be an only child, but he’s begrudgingly grown to love her,” Froeber says. Born in Alabama, Steve is a distinguished gentleman, and Froeber thought his sister would be a proper lady. “She’s really not. She’s nuts,” Froeber says. But Lily does love one thing from her Southern heritage. “I bought her a pearl collar, and she loves it,” Froeber says. “You can just tell she feels pretty. I’ll put it on her when she needs girl time.” Lily, who had stem cell recovery in her eye, and Steve, who suffered a collapsed trachea, have both endured medical problems that made them the perfect comforters when Froeber was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. “It was shocking being very young and not expecting it,” she says. “It felt chaotic, but they needed a routine, and every day we would walk down the street. I didn’t have any hair, and I didn’t feel good, but it got me motivated to do the things that my body wanted to do.” With Froeber in remission, Steve and Lily’s nursing duties are over. Steve now spends his days snuggling and taking naps — his snoring game is strong — and Lily likes to watch Bravo in her pearls.
