Both Nicholas and I have some very sad news. Lily became very unwell and we were faced with the hardest decision. It was something we were both dreading. Although she had been poorly for a few weeks, when the moment came, it was very sudden and quite a shock. It wasn’t a decision either of us wanted to make, but it was the kindest thing we could do and truly the most heartbreaking decision.
13 years of Tibetan terrier Fun
Lily has been with Nicolas and myself every step of the way in the last 13 years, through thick and thin. She always managed to put a smile on our faces. In fact she has made us smile every single day. She was the happiest little soul, she was rarely grumpy, never complained. You couldn’t have wished for a more wonderful companion, ready and willing to do anything at any moment.
She had a lovely family around her, not just Nicholas and myself but loving grandparents on both sides. Her most favoruite person in the world was a neighbour called Sarah. She would absolutely go potty to see her every time she visited every few months. It was like no one else mattered when Sarah was around. It was quite funny to watch as she would bark and yelp in such high pitched squeals, the only thing that would calm her was a small frozen piece of chicken from the freezer. High value treats! Although that became quite a habit and so when lovely visitors came to the cottage, she would then look to us for… you guessed it. Frozen chicken pieces!
In actual fact any visitors who came to visit that she knew, she loved and always greeted so enthusiastically, especially Nichoals’s father, who she would also go crazy about. Poor Nicholas’s dad is on blood thinners and when she would jump up we would have to be very careful about his arms. Invariably we would leave after a visit and he’d have Lily paw scratches on his arms from her trying to jump up in excitement and him wanting to greet her!
This was also the same when we all went and visited people too. Other neighbours of ours messaged us after Lily had passed away saying that when we visited last it was nice to see us, but it was Lily who they missed most… in a joking way of course! She was so loved by everyone.
She will not only be missed by Nicholas and myself, but all who knew her. Everyone has been so kind, especially during her time when she was poorly and we were so utterly worried about her. Thank you for your support and the kind gifts, especially the Peace Lily from our groomer Dylan. The perfect plant and very thoughtful.
Lily’s Gallery
Its really hard to sum up Lily’s life in one single memorial blog post. One page seems inconsequential in comparison to what she meant to both Nicholas and myself. How she was here for both of us in our times of need. She looked to both of us for different things, she needed us both in different ways and hopefully we made her feel safe and loved throughout her life. We separately have so many wonderful stories about her, we both have our own vivid memories that could fill an entire blog, let alone one blog post.
If I may just impart one story which I always felt was so funny. As always, Nicholas was the one to look after Lily if we were out in a town. I would want to go in the shop and Nicholas would be waiting outside with Lily. Lily was a bit of a babe magnet, all the ladies would flock to stroke her, Nicholas of course was quite happy to entertain this!! Anyway, this one time a lady paused by a shop window. Lily nonchalantly stood up, sniffed her bare leg and then gave it a quick lick. (It was Lily’s MO to give you a quick lick on the leg or arm from time to time) However in this instance the lady looked around quite shocked and looked straight at Nicholas… to which Nicholas replied.. so, so sorry… it wasn’t me… it was the dog! 😀 How Lily could innocently get attention from anyone!
Perhaps we will share more stories over the coming months in our personal blog posts.
Lily’s Bad Hair Days
We have so many amazing photos of her, and it was difficult to go through them. But lets start with Lily’s bad hair days. There were many! Our lovely groomer always made her look so tidy. As her fringe was so long, I would put it up in pigtails or ponytails just so she could see. Plus it was really cute with bows. When we were out and about kids and adults alike would all smile at her and go ahhhh look!! We would have hair malfunctions though and this was clearly one of them!
This one is serious wake up bad hair first things in the morning…! We aren’t not sure what she was doing… perhaps dreaming of rabbits and squirrels!
Hair malfunctions didn’t just end at brushing and pigtails. Snow was another issue. She came from Tibet…How could this happen! Every time it snowed she would get huge clumps on her and sometimes we would need to put her in a warm shower just to melt them. She loved the snow though.
Talking of showers… she was never a fan, but loved getting out. She would enjoy rolling upside down and running around and rolling on the sofa or bed to make her fur back the way she wanted. She always got a kiss on the head here like this. Look at those shiny eyes!
Lily in Things!!
Lily loved to lick pots, or put her head into things to retrieve goodies. She would inevitably come out with yogurt all around her mouth and fur.
When we used to go to dog training the trainers would give them their own goody bag at Christmas and she absolutely loved this. If she could get her head into anything and steal something she would.
That goes for getting in things…we would look around and find her in things watching me. We are sure she was sitting waiting thinking… she will see me in a minute and I will get a big fuss… or cause mayhem!
How she ended up in Nicholas’s slippers I will never know…. how funny was she!!
Or in the box….She loved cardboard boxes.
For many years she would steal the inside of the toilet roll when it was finished. She would never eat the cardboard, but she would take much pleasure in ripping it up and spitting it out so that there was a mess on the floor. When we had a long cardboard tube… it was game on!!
Pets at Home….
Christmas or birthdays were fun, we almost think she enjoyed ripping the paper more than playing with the toy! She actually did love Mr Giraffe and the smaller toys like this were her absolute favourite. Thanks to Pets at Home!
Pets at Home was her favourite place too and she felt very hard done by if there were no spilt biscuits on the floor by the pick and mix section. We are certain we were caught many times on CCTV scavenging…. Lily is at it again!! She would even go right under the shelving to retrieve a lost biscuit.
Having said that, we used to buy a lot in there so I’m pretty sure they didn’t mind us clearing up the floor for them. Lily had so many toys, we have a full beanbag bag filled with them. She rarely destroyed them so we have toys dating back from when she was a puppy.
Pets at Home treats always came in handy for Swapsies. If Lily ‘Stole’ something that she wasn’t meant to have… we would swap it for a treat. This was a lovely drawing our friends daughter made for her birthday last year which she stole and I was swapping it for a biscuit! I think Lily approved of both!
Although not all toys had to be bought… so many things can be toys especially when Lily seeked them out and found them to be ‘hers’.
Lily’s Rules
The toys photos reminded us of this poem. We aren’t sure where the basis of this came from, we think there was a shorter version going around on social media. We did save it somewhere and loved it, as it was so Tibetan Terrier. It probably translates well for other breeds, but this is Lily to a T.
If I saw it first, it’s mine.
If I like it, it’s mine.
If it’s in my mouth, it’s mine.
If I can take it from you, it’s mine.If it’s on the floor, it’s mine.
If it was on the floor a moment ago, it’s still mine.
If it’s in your hand, it’s basically mine.
If you put it down just for a second, it’s mine.If I followed you to get it, I’ve earned it. It’s mine.
If it smells interesting, it’s mine.
If it’s yours, its not anymore, its mine.
If it’s a sock, it was never really yours to begin with.Everything else? Also mine. But I’ll let you keep the big bed. Sometimes.
Lily and Shops!
Lily loved going into shops, and this was last winter when we found the garden center was dog friendly. Lily really did not like the polar bears. She gingerly went up to them. Their heads actually moved so I don’t blame her for being wary.
Look Out Lily
Lily, being a Tibetan Terrier was a look out ‘alarm’ dog. If anyone arrived at the cottage, she knew. She monitored the windows constantly. Either like this below, sat on a bed to look out of them, (our windows are low) or her favourite place was the front room window. We have hundreds of photos of her there.
This is one of our favourite photos looking out of the patio doors from the window. Or more like… I know you are taking photos and I am not looking at you! She had just come back from the groomers, so there was always a photo shoot after on this windowsill.
This never stopped her even if the window sill was full of tools. It was her place and she wasn’t going to be put off with Nicholas’s things being there. She would sit in between them quite comfortably!
Happy to Sleep Anywhere!
In fact we often found her sleeping on things, in things or around things! We had renovations done in 2019 and this was a discarded old bit of replacement beam. A comfy pillow perhaps??
Lily enjoyed sleeping upside down and this particular day she must have been really tired.
The back of sofas were also particularly comfy…and a great vantage point to watch what was going on.
Ultimately though our studio chairs were her favourite place. If either of us got up from our chair… she would get on it. I think she did it so we would pick her up and cuddle her for a while during our work day.
As you can see here on Nicholas’s chair. This was a very common pose for Lily, she would wrap her paws around your arms if you were the right pose for her to do so. If she was up in either one of us’s arms and someone else was stroking her, if she liked them ..she would do the same! She went to the vets once and they wanted to check her neck for a possibly back issue (she was fine) and the vet was unable to examine her properly as she just kept cupping her arms! The vet had not seen a dog do this before, but we wonder if its a Tibetan Terrier thing.
… of course when she was up with me on my lap having cuddle… I would do daft things with her. I think the glasses suited her more than me actually!
Days Out with Lily
We both loved taking Lily out and about, especially on walks in Pembrokeshire. Being a Tibetan Terrier she was an excellent climber and loved getting to the top of Carningli… probably giving us a heart attack in fear of her falling, but she never did.
This is one of our favourite places to visit in Newport Pembs, especially off season when the kids were back to school as it’s always much quieter. It will be very hard for Nicholas and myself to go back here now with out her.
This is another Pembrokeshire favourite of Nicholas and myself – Bersherton Lilly ponds. Lily loved it there on the boardwalks and then down on the beach in the dunes with us both.
Lily in Mischief
Lily has always been such a well behaved dog, especially for a Tibetan Terrier, however she always like to be in the middle of everything that was happening. We never blamed her. She helped Vince the painter paint the cottage a few years ago. And yes Lily did get covered in paint at times!
We will Miss You Lily.
All the fun we had, all the amazing times, we cherish them all. We will miss her dearly. Forever in our hearts.
Beautiful Lily. We have no more words. We loved you and always will.
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