Lily Cardone dreams of one day becoming a Hollywood star.

More than a Year ago

More than a Year ago

More than a Year ago

It's what has twice brought the 18-year-old resident of Palm City to the Tampa Bay area for roles in locally made films.

She knew it would take time to earn celebrity status.

But she never thought her dog would achieve it first.

"This is unbelievable," Lily said of the fame. "It's crazy and funny."

The tale goes as follows:

Her father Vincent Cardone - off working in the Middle East - sent flowers to his house on Wednesday.

His wife Debbie Cardone excitedly believed they were for her, only to discover that the card read, "Sebastian, feel better. You'll be back in the game soon. Love, Daddy."

Sebastian is their 10-year-old English bulldog recovering from knee surgery.

Debbie thought it was funny enough to write about on Facebook, "So flowers were delivered today. I thought 'oh isn't that nice!'...then I read the card."

Her daughter then tweeted about it. Friends retweeted. Strangers thought it was cute and did the same. By evening, the story was trending. Come morning time, news outlets from around the nation were talking about the flowers, including Today and Good Morning America.

Daughter Lily - now a freshman at the University of Florida - is a known talent among Tampa area movie producers.

At the age of six she was cast in the locally-made independent horror flick As Night Falls. That was her first feature-length movie.

Five years later she was back in the area to star in Turtle Tale, a family film now making the rounds at film festivals.

She is not jealous in the least of the the family dog.

"He deserves it," she said. "He's always been such a personality. This dog is a star. I'm happy he's finally getting credit he deserves."

Next up for Lily – an episode in season three of the Netflix series Bloodline.

As for the man who sent the flowers - wife Debbie says this odd gesture will not put him the dog house.

He often sends her surprise flowers and other gifts when he is gone for extended periods of time for his job as deputy director of Almana Motor Co. out of Qatar.

"We have a very loving marriage," Debbie said. "But he loves Sebastian too. He is part of our family."

Sebastian is recovering fine from surgery, she added, and loved the flowers.

Contact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.

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