Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Tilly

The last month or so has been a bit rough for us and I just haven't felt like blogging. Two days after arriving back in Fountain Hills we lost our dear, sweet Tilly. She was a member of our family for 14 years, and not surprisingly she has left a huge hole in our hearts and lives.
Tilly was a pretty well-traveled dog. She began her life with us in 2002 at our house on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. After leaving Vieques in 2006 we moved into the motorhome. Since that time she has traveled throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada with us, making lots of friends along the way. Brian has put together some photos of Tilly and her travels we thought we would share.
Tilly at 2 months with those huge ears she eventually grew into.
Our Vieques house was on a ridge with a steep hill. Tilly loved to carry coconuts up the hill, and no matter how many times she dropped them and they rolled back down the hill she never gave up. Most of the coconuts weighed around 5 pounds - pretty strong jaws.
Hanging out at Green Beach, Vieques. Bit of a gouge on her head from running around like a maniac.
Brian was always trying to get Tilly to swim. She loved the beach, waves and water but didn't want her feet to leave the ground. Lots of great memories from Orchid Beach in Vieques.
Tilly and her buddy Keeper hanging out on our patio in Vieques.
Tilly and Keeper kept their friendship going for many years. Here they're having one of many reunions at Bici's house on North Haven island, Maine. They never forgot each other and always picked up right where they left off.  
Tilly grew up with our friends Patti and Denny and their 5 dogs when we all lived  in Vieques. They all move to Florida and when we got the Bus our first stop was their new place. They watched Tilly for us while we were in Belize - it looks like she tried to re-join the pack by taking over little Gracie's bed. She was so happy to be back with her buddies!
One of Tilly's favorite spots in the Bus, sitting in the driver's seat with her favorite Kong toy
Walking one of the many, many beaches we visited. This one is Race Point near Provincetown, Massachussetts.
Another thing Tilly did with us is visit wineries. Many of them are dog friendly and welcomed her, and she often made friends with the winery dogs.
Tilly went pretty much everywhere with us. In Mexico she was allowed into the restaurants, where she would promptly go under the table and lie down for the duration. Here Brian has coaxed her out for a photo, nice tablecloth on her head.
One of our very favorite dog beaches in California near Morro Bay. We'll never forget the first time we went there and Tilly was so excited to be off-leash at the beach that she just went nuts.
Ready to catch some ground squirrels in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Exploring along the Ice Fields Parkway in Canada.
Back in Arizona, sweet to the end.

3 comments:

  1. We miss her too. She was a good girl. But like I said, she's sitting on the other side of the bridge wagging her tail. Dog's don't understand time so she'll be there waiting however long it takes us to get there.

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  2. So sorry to hear this news about Tilly. I lost my yellow lab, Millie, a year ago and some days are still hard, but what great memories and photos we will always have of our best tail-wagging buddies.

    We met in San Miguel in early 2014 and I so appreciated the detailed driving maps to the overnight Pemex & the Texas Welcome Center that you guys provided me! I'm hoping to re-visit that route this Fall and hope our paths might cross in Mexico again.

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  3. I met your beloved Tilly years ago, she has always been one of the coolest dogsI have ever known. I loved how she always knew when it was dinner time and would wait patiently sitting and staring at you while you prepared it., I always loved how we had the giggles when she ran to the Television to chase the animals on the screen. You both were amazing parents to your Tilly.💝

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