Lilly Cogan

Lilly Cogan, beloved fur baby of Jamie Cogan and Tim Surber, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on July 27. Lilly was born to a stray cat in her pet mom’s friend’s garage. Jamie had just lost a kitty, and her friend won her over when she sent a picture of tiny Lilly laying on a Barbie backpack. The friend had two large dogs and needed to find a loving home for Lilly. Lilly quickly became a loved member of her new family where her nicknames included Liller’s, Lilly Girl, Pretty Girl, Baby Girl and Love Bug. She particularly loved an old brown knee sock that she dragged around the house for years—it was an evening ritual that involved some very vocal meowing (it was called her sock baby). Lilly loved to bat anything off of a counter top. She also loved her “scratchies”, which were cardboard scratching chaise lounges. As Jamie shared, “Unfortunately, scratchies were discovered after Lilly destroyed the back of a leather sofa!” Lilly had a number of favorite activities: snuggling her big dog, Ollie; laying on the counter when the dishwasher was going; laying on her pet mom’s laptop and typing mysterious messages; laying on the dryer when it was running; and she loved to be brushed (where Jamie joked she should loom cat hair yarn). Lilly loved to attack things such as a package of toilet paper, and to occasionally gift her mom with cat barf in the most distinctive locations. Her most unique trick was the time she left her mom a not-so-pleasant “gift” on top of the refrigerator and it took weeks to figure out what the smell was (she was trying to stay away from a new dog in the house). Her least favorite things to do were to take medicine; the baths her mom would have to give her over the months that she was sick; Lenny, Buster and Daisy chasing and barking at her over the years…which is why she loved Ollie the most, since he never chased her. Lilly liked to sleep anywhere warm and snuggly, oftentimes, in a clothes basket designated just for her on top of the dryer. Her family had many happy memories. Some of them included when she would immediately jump up on the kitchen counter to greet them when they came home, then rub all over them to show her love. Her parents enjoyed the quiet weekend snuggle time while drinking coffee at the kitchen table in the morning before anyone else was up; and the fact that she would sit upon the tiniest thing declaring it her throne. “If I fits, I sits” was her motto. As Jamie reflected, “I am so grateful to have been working from home these past months, which allowed me to spend so much extra time, and to be able to care for Lilly, and her brother Ollie, as they both battled illnesses diagnosed at the same time. I wouldn’t trade my time of taking care of them for anything. I have comfort knowing that they are together again, if they can’t be here with us.” Lilly’s pet siblings include (past and present): Lucy (cat); dogs Buster, Pootie and Daisy; and another dog, Ollie, who passed away two months to the day of Lilly’s death. They loved each other and were a very bonded pair. She is survived by her dog brother, Lenny. Lilly’s human brothers and sisters include Brad, Adam, Sam (who had Lilly in his life for 15 of his almost 20 years, the most of any of the kids), Kaitlyn and Molly.

Lilly Cogan

September 16, 2005 - July 27, 2020