Rebecca Bailey of Mount Clemens, Mich., wasn’t looking to adopt a dog. Then she saw an old spaniel mix from Tennessee.

It was November 2013. The photo of 11.5-year-old Lily was on the Michigan Humane Society website. The black spaniel-border collie mixed breed had gotten to Michigan three weeks earlier on a transport from East Tennessee.

Lily had lived at the Blount County Animal Center in Maryville. But older dogs often have tougher time getting adopted. So she was moved to Michigan in an early GoNorth Animal Transport.

GoNorth is a collaborative of East Tennessee animal shelters that moves dogs and sometimes cats to states that include Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. Shelters there often need adoptable animals. In five years, GoNorth has transported more than 10,000 animals. Most of its dogs find homes in their new states in days or weeks.

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Bailey was searching the Michigan Humane Society website in hopes she'd find the owner of a stray cat. The feline had taken residence under a shrub near her house; she and husband Fred were feeding it.

No one was looking for the cat. But there was “something about Lily, and her picture just spoke to me,” Bailey said.

So they put their younger dog Scout in the car and drove an hour to meet Lily. “We brought her home that night.”

They also took in that homeless cat, now named Butter.

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Bailey’s an advocate of adopting senior pets. “I don’t think they get enough of a shake. They already know anything they need to know; you are just taking them in to love them."

Lily had some adjustment issues. She’d never been around cats; she first didn’t like other animals around her food. The Baileys worked through the challenges. “Lily was worth the extra effort. She still plays like a puppy,” Bailey said.

Now 15, Lily requires daily medicine for arthritis. The 35-pound canine’s got fatty tumors on her belly. She's never liked toys but loves to run and play with Scout.

"She's lovely and loving and a great addition," Bailey said.