Miley Sue's Story

Miley Sue’s Candle Company began as a tribute to a very special dog.

Miley Sue was a 50/50 Redbone Coonhound/German Shephard mix. She had all the looks and personality of a Redbone. German Shephard, not so much. She was playful, sweet, and very loud. Miley loved to bark. It made no difference to her whether there was anything there to bark at or not. Even though she didn’t always act it, she was highly intelligent. She taught herself to open gates by lifting the latch with her nose. She was highly independent. She learned things because she wanted to learn them, not because we wanted to teach them to her. We adopted this sweet soul from a rescue in Columbus County Humane Society in North Carolina. She immediately became best friends with her older sister Riley Mae. We eventually adopted 3 more dogs, Kiley Rose, and litter mates Callie Jade and Lily Belle. She never cared about her status in the pack. As long as she could bark at the fence and eat twice a day, she was happy as could be.

Miley loved food almost as much as she loved her family. She once stole half a lasagna off the countertop and ate the entire thing in a matter of seconds. She definitely knew how to get herself in trouble. She was hard to train, she never walked well on a leash, and she had a way of completely tuning out any command we gave her as soon as the door opened. Miley was not the easiest dog to have, but she was most definitely the easiest to love.

When humans die, they get funerals, obituaries, and memorials. If they did something society deemed noteworthy or important during their lives, they get roads, bridges, schools, or airports named after them. They even get statues sometimes. Their names and likenesses are remembered. Dogs are different. They live their entire lives with their families (if they are lucky). They don’t write books, invent new technologies, fight wars, or run for office. They don’t have social media accounts that connect them to the entire world. Instead, they spend their entire lives loving their pack. That’s what Miley Sue did for us. She gave us 13 years of love. And for that, we will never forget her.

Miley Sue died in our arms in her home after a short battle with cancer. After she was diagnosed, we planned for 6 chemotherapy treatments to maintain her quality of life as long as possible. She had a couple bad days, but after her diagnosis, she was her spunky self 95% of the time, right up until the moment she left us. Minutes before she died, a rainbow appeared in our back yard and touched down right in front of us. The end of the rainbow was in our back yard. We watched it in amazement from our back porch, and when we came back inside our sweet dog, who had a great day up until that point, didn’t want to stand up. 20 minutes later she was gone. She left on the rainbow. That evening was her funeral. We had her cremated by the amazing people at Heavenly Paws Pet Crematory in Longs, SC. Her ashes are in a beautiful box next to her older sister’s. This story is her obituary. Miley Sue’s Candle Company is her bridge, her road, her statue.

We created this company in Miley’s honor. Miley Sue lit up our lives for 13 years. Our candles remind us of that. We create all our candles with dog lovers in mind. Whether it’s a memorial, a sentimental candle, or one with a goofy saying that reminds you of your fun-loving furry friend, we hope our candles light up your home the way Miley lit up ours. We want our candles to remind you of your own dog, and never forget that, to your dog, you are the entire world.