World’s Only Poker-Playing Dog Dies Age 17

The poker community has lost one of its few animal stars after Jilli Dog, famous for being the ‘World’s Only Poker-Playing Dog,’ died of natural causes at her owner’s home on Friday.
Rick Caran found the 5-pound Yorkshire Terrier when she was a hungry stray living on the streets, and with no collar or means of identifying her subsequently decided to take her home with him. The two had been inseparable ever since and each night he’d spend around 20 minutes practicing tricks with her, the most famous of which turned out to be her poker playing routine which eventually went viral.
The world subsequently opened up for Jilli Dog who has since  performed her act in Las Vegas, and made appearances in TV commercials, as well as a number of TV shows including Good Morning America, Today, and Animal Planet’s Dogs 101. Recalling their time spent together on the road,  Caran, 69, said:
“We went to Italy, we went to Sweden, and people would come out and say, ‘Jilli Dog! Jilli Dog!.”
Just how incredible were Jilli Dog’s poker skills? Well judge for yourselves in this incredible clip which shows her playing a cash game with Caran and managing to scoop a nice pot. Nevertheless, some people did criticize the fact that even though she won the hand she had actually been chasing draws with improper odds. Others noticed that at one point Jilli Dog appeared to short change the pot, with JJS commenting:
“The guy bets $2 on second street, but the dog only called with $1. You shouldn’t let poker players get away with things like that even in a friendly home game. :-).”
However, the controversy was soon quashed after Rick Caran responded by explaining that “if you look closely, she pulls 2 bucks, they are stuck together, and I separate them!-) If she pulls one, I tell her “HEY, you owe a buck”, if she pulls more, it’s a raise!”
One thing for sure is that the cute poker playing Yorkie delighted audiences wherever she went, but never forgot her roots, supporting many good causes and charities along the way, eventually leading to her being named the Goodwill Ambassador to “Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue” (YTNR).