Tillie turns 15!

I can’t believe our girl Tillie turns 15! She’s in amazing shape and we are grateful for everyday we have with her! Yes, she’s slowed down. Our walks take longer, we have to talk very loudly (I’m sure our neighbors wonder why we are always “yelling” at her) and she still stumbles around a little bit (the after effects of “old dog syndrome” episodes from a year ago).

It’s incredible that she’s had no major health issues, no major surgeries and no visits to the emergency hospital. She’s not a purebred though I’m not exactly sure what breed she is. Obviously she is a red merle Australian Shepherd probably mixed with border collie. She’s very smart, super friendly and eager to meet anyone and everyone she crosses paths with.

If you don’t know her story, we are her second family. She came to live with us when she was 9 years old after her first dog mom passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Adopted through a rescue she found her way to her first family when she was 11 months old. As her pet sitter, I walked her virtually every week, so we have a long history together. I used to bring my golden retriever Izzy with me to walk Tillie and the two girls were good friends.

Tillie’s mom’s death really shook me up. Even though I had lost other friends unexpectedly, this hit me differently. Probably because I was older. Nancy and I used to talk a lot about what we would do when we retired. She being older than me, was coming up on that chapter in her life much more quickly than I. She had so many plans including traveling and I was excited for her. Unfortunately, she never got to make those dreams come true. That made me realize it doesn’t always pay to put something important off.

At that time, my husband and I had been talking about making a big change in our life. On the one hand, it was exciting, on the other, it was scary facing the unknown. We were ready to move and experience a different life than what we had been living. Relocating to another state with no jobs and away from my entire family left me feeling anxious. Yet, the promise of being close to the beach and pursuing work that didn’t require working 7 days a week was thrilling.

Losing Tillie’s mom was the impetus to finally give me the strength to take the leap. So in a matter of six months. Tillie lost her mom, her home, moved in with a new family, gained 3 dog siblings, lost one dog sibling, and moved to the sunshine state. Whew! That was a lot. But she handled it very well.

Dogs living to the age of 15 is becoming more rare. We thought we were going to lose her earlier this year, shortly after saying goodbye to our golden Izzy who lost her fight to cancer. But Tillie rallied around and has been doing great since then. I had no idea when I met her for the first time to walk her, that one day we’d become family. She went from being an only dog to being a part of a pack. Our pack. And I’m so glad she did.

Happy birthday Tillie!