Lilly the puppy finds a home with the Klie family of Chester

Chester - On May 25th I was asked to go on the Today show to “Toy Test.” We went to a hotel - the Essex House - in New York City the night before. It was a really great hotel because it was nice and the service was great. The next morning they picked me and my family up and they brought us to the studio where the segment was going to be taped live. Boy, was I nervous. They first brought us to the “Green Room” where the ten families and my family had breakfast. After that, they brought my family downstairs and we went outside to the Plaza with blindfolds to cover our eyes. I did not know why but, boy, was I curious. My mom went with a TV person and left me with another TV person and the ten other kids. We were all standing out on the plaza, all eyes were on us. I couldn’t understand why there was a person from Petfinder there? It was really strange, especially when they said to put on our blindfolds. I heard them say they were going to surprise us with something but I did not know what. I know my mom was standing behind me when they said to take the blindfolds off. I wondered where was the surprise or the toys. I turned around and then turned again. That is when I saw my mom with the puppy. “Is that mine?” I asked her. “Yes, she’s ours!” she said. She is Lilly, the dog. We went to see Lilly on Mother’s Day but my mom said that someone else adopted her and that we needed to wait. What a trick my mom played on me and my brother and sister. I walked around with Lily and met the other children and their dogs. One dog was a German Shepherd and had heart surgery. My brother Alex and my sister Krista were amazed as they watched the show in a VIP section. I heard them screaming to me: “Is that ours!?” My dad was there, too, but he wasn’t as excited as we were. We headed back to the hotel to check out and pick up the crate that Petco donated to us. I thought that was especially nice. It was a great experience being on the Today show especially that I got my puppy! Here is a picture of me and my family at the today show. Zachery Klie is 10 years old and recently completed the fourth grade at Kings Elementary in Warwick. Editor’s note: Petfinder.com, the online database of adoptable animals, kicked off its 10th anniversary celebration in late May on the Today Show by surprising ten 10-year-old children on the air with a special dog hand-picked and adopted by their parents through the Petfinder.com Web site. The Klie family of Chester adopted Lilly, a female Labrador Retriever mix. Here is Zachery Klie’s report on the experience.