Tilly

sweetie

This is Tilly.

Tilly and her two sisters appeared in town one day. They were picked up by animal control (also known as Gina) and ended up in our new city shelter. Tilly’s sisters picked on her and she never got anything to eat. The shelter called BARC to see if someone in the network could foster her and fatten her up. We live right down the road and were momentarily dogless* so Michael went and picked her up on Wednesday.

The first thing we do with our furry guests is take them to our vet for a bath and a once-over. Tilly had a fever and a wheeze. Kennel Cough – a generic term for any number of viruses or bacterial infection. And she was already starved. Tilly got dramatically worse overnight and was not interested in food or water on Thursday. She got up and wandered around the house a couple times, but spent the vast majority of the day in her crate breathing raggedly. Friday she went in for fluids. She perked up a little Friday night and had a drink of water. This morning we took her for more fluids and on the way in, noticed yellow puss around her nose. Distemper.

Tilly has gone to where the good dogs go when they stop running. Our shelter is in lockdown for a week to see if there are any more cases and wait for test results to confirm. We can’t have dogs in our house for a month.

Tilly was gentle, loved her cushy bed, wagged her tail for each of us (including Ellie who kept bringing her toys and hats to help her feel better), indifferent to cats, and very smart. She sorted out the purpose of a leash in two trips outside and “inside” and “outside” after a few repetitions. I am happy to have loved her for the few days we were able.

Save lives. Spay, neuter and vaccinate your pets.

*I did tell you about Daisy? We found her many many months ago on the way to the Farm and it took a while to find her a forever home. With a fenced yard and a dog door. Daisy’s idea of heaven.

15 thoughts on “Tilly”

  1. Jessica

    I’m sorry. That’s sad . . . we’re going to have to put down our cat, probably this week. She’s 19 years old and her body is slowly shutting down. It doesn’t help that our rambunctious one-year-old keeps tackling her. She’s been a good sport about that!

  2. Ruth

    It’s so sad when a good animal gets to sick to go on. I’m glad her last days were spent in such a nice place as your home.

  5. mare

    So many passings today. A sad day indeed. I will pray for Tilly that the next time around she finds a home and someone to love her. She was so lucky to have you take care of her and show her love in the end…

  6. Nicole

    oh my gosh… i was hoping for something else… BIG sigh…. i feel so sad 🙁 my condolences for the heart ache.

    THANK YOU for taking her in, Emily, and giving her lots of love & kindness… xo Nicole

  9. Renna

    Stories like that break my heart. I’m so thankful Tilly did know love, acceptance, and compassion in her last few days on this earth. I like to think she’s romping in Heaven’s fields now.

    God bless your family for your heart for God’s helpless creatures.

  10. joan

    When will people get the message on spay or neuter. I get so angry when I hear of things like this. Absolutely no reason at all for this to happen to such a sweet looking dog. I hear all this breeding of designer dogs. This is how it will all end. Wish I could put an end to it. I do however have 2 rescue dogs and 3 more are coming to visit next week. 5 in one house I think I am “full up”

  11. Carol

    Our wonderful lab of twelve years left us Sunday & I
    was doing better til I read about Tilly. We had to go to
    our farm that he loved so much to bury him, as they “rules”
    in town. We all loved him so much.

  13. KatieL

    As a vet, puppies like this squeeze on my heart. Thank you for loving her for the short time she was with you. That love is priceless. Prayers sent your way!

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