1 Year...by the hardest!

The day she arrived...

Well today Miss Tilly is 1! About 7 or 8 months ago, I was not sure the little one would make it this far! I can say today that I love Tilly SO much. She is a light in my life and makes me smile so many times every day. BUT, do not be fooled, she has not always been this way nor is she like this now 100% of the time. You see the first day we got her, she was so timid and sweet. She just laid on our laps quietly and we thought we had hit the jackpot. No. This was not it. She realized in a mere 24 hours that we were suckers and that she was going to run the show. And so it began. Little Tilly became known as the Devil at our house. I mean she chewed fringe off rugs, she dug holes, ran through the mud after it rained until she was a muddy drowned rat, she would air chomp at you when you told her no, she woke up at the crack of dawn (still does) and many other things that I have tried to block from my memory. We were blown away. Shammi has always been such an easy dog so I just did not even know what to do with the monster that we had not only adopted, but purchased and had flown in from New Jersey. People kept telling me that they get better with age and after a year or two I would see why people fall so in love with this breed. Well they were right...it took me the full year. But now I see it and I do love her. I am pretty sure her 4 weeks of training are what changed her for the better. It was not the things they taught her like how to heel or stay, but more that she learned that she wanted to please. And since that time, Graham and I have both agreed that we have truly enjoyed her. Now don't get me wrong, she is still in her crate when we are gone and at night because we know if bored enough she can still be destructive, but when she is out with us, she follows me everywhere and when I sit on the couch, she puts her front feet up and rests her head right on my belly and just wants to be petted. And in the mornings after she still wakes us up early, she just gets in bed with us and sleeps as long as we do. And she is still just as quirky with her funny little howl/growl when she gets frustrated and not as much attention as she likes. Or how she still loves her toys, but she destroys them in no time. And how she carries her toys past you, head high, tail wagging because she thinks we are so jealous of her with her toy. Or how in the mornings, she tries to sneak past me through the shower door because she doesn't like to be away from us for one second. And when you don't let her in, she lays on the mat outside the shower until you get out. Or how when I do laundry and lay all my piles out, she lays right on top of the biggest pile and takes a little nap. And if she isn't there, you know there is a sock missing and it is time to go after her which is just what she wants. In fact, if you don't give her enough attention, she will go into our room and into our hamper and grab a sock and walk right in front of us just because she knows we will take it from her. She always lets go immediately, she just wanted your attention. So despite her pushing us to the boiling point many times, we are so thankful for 'Lil Til and all she adds to our life. I always say God sent me the angel I needed when he sent me Sham and I didn't know what he sent me when he sent me Til, but after some time with her, I swear I am a more patient person and my life is definitely fuller (more full?) with her in it. She is certainly one of a kind! So I needed to post this picture I took the other day because it cracks me up every time I look at it! Does she not look like she is smiling at the camera?!

Happy Birthday Miss Till! We love you!