Lovin’ California life: Hanging out with Daddo at the Santa Monica Pier.[/caption]

Meet Lyla, of Santa Monica, California. She is The Mountain-Ear’s 2023 Pet of the Year.

Only Lyla knows about her life before Daddo. We’re pretty sure it consisted of a cramped cage, cold concrete, and noise. Lots of noise. We know that when she was six months old, angels appeared and brought her to a foster home in Burbank, far away from the cage. Lyla found herself in a park there one day. It turned out to be the most important day of her life.

With so many changes in so little time, Lyla was not comfortable in the park. When she took a cautious look around, she noticed a human walking toward her. She didn’t know it yet, but he was about to give her something special, something long overdue. He brought her the promise of life, love, and a little bit of Nederland.

The man looked sad, Lyla found out later that he had just lost a close friend. She walked him around the park, brought him a stick, and he began to brighten up. They were comfortable and secure with each other. It felt like family.

There was paperwork to be done, and then, on July 11, 2022, Lyla moved into the human’s apartment in Santa Monica. First things first - she named him Daddo.

Lyla is two and a half now, loving her life in Santa Monica. She goes on walks and visits the dog park every day. They often go to the diner, where she gets her own order of bacon. She has the beaches, the pier, and the college (where Daddo is a professor.). There is even a brewery nearby. She drags him there all the time. They say hi to the regulars, who all love her!

Celebrity encounters are common in Santa Monica. Once, when they were heading out to a hot yoga class, Daddo went to turn off the TV. He noticed Chris Pratt (“Parks and Recreation,” Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers) on the screen. As he switched it off, he turned to Lyla and said, “F Chris Pratt!”

Minutes later, at the class, a guy rolled out his mat next to Daddo’s and said “Dude, is that your dog over there? What’s her name?” It was Chris Pratt. He gave Lyla some pets, Daddo a fist-bump, and said, “Lyla is my daughter’s name!”

Lyla and Daddo share a fondness for road trips. Trashy casino towns, a certain small paradise in the mountains, and, best of all, national parks. Lyla collects Junior Ranger badges from the parks, and she wears them on her Brownie vest. She’s got 12 badges already, and she’ll get number 13 at Death Valley, in April.

Sometimes the trips can be risky. Last summer, when they were visiting Will Rogers State Historic Park, Lyla stuck her head in a bush, and pulled it out with a rattlesnake in her mouth. Daddo yelled, she dropped it, and he took a good look to make sure it was a rattler. It was a rattler. And it was coiled and ready to strike.

There was no way to be sure she hadn’t been bit, so he rushed her toward town while talking to her doctor on the phone. “What is she doing right now?” the vet asked.

“She’s got her head out the window, and she’s really proud of herself.”

She’s okay,” the vet said. “You’d know by now.”

Here’s the Nederland connection: Daddo was born and bred in Big Springs. You might know him as Travis Grant. He attended NMSHS (where his mom, Candace Grant, taught) and competed on the middle school ski team.

When he was a ten-year-old Cub Scout, Travis won a trivia contest up in Caribou by correctly naming the US President in office when Colorado became a state. The prize: Tom Hendricks let him light a stick of dynamite. The stick was planted deep in a mine, and it had a very long fuse. Grant remembers, “Honestly, it was like a minute of waiting, and then a loud boom. It was great!”

Although she’s not a mountain girl, Lyla visits Ned every summer. It’s hard to believe, but this husky has never seen snow. She is happy with the Southern California warmth.

Lyla hopes to spend all her days exploring Santa Monica and traveling with Daddo. She is content keeping him safe, snacking on cheese, and playing with two puppies who live down the street. Lyla’s come a long way since she met Daddo in that Burbank park. She is a very happy girl.

You can follow Lyla’s adventures at https://www.instagram.com/junipersbarkrangers/.