Lily – Our Beloved Tibetan Terrier

The Story of Lily's Arrival

We sadly lost our rescue dog Tom at only 5 years old in June 2013. When Tom passed I didn't want to think about getting another dog, but as the weeks went by I thought about it more and more and knew if I was to have another dog, it couldn't be a the same breed and would have to be a girl dog to be completely different.

On a walk one day I said to Nicholas I'd like a puppy and I'd like to call it Lily. I don’t know where it came from, it just seemed to pop into my head and that was that. We started to look on rescue sites for a girl pup of any small to medium breed, but to no avail.

We had been looking after a friend's Tibetan Terrier for a week, which was lovely. We are familiar with the breed and wondered if it would be good for us. We looked online and amazingly found a lovely family who recently had a litter of puppies. Their dogs are family pets and amazingly they had three pups left, two boys and one girl. I saw a photo of the girl, her registered name was Blue Velvet, she looked gorgeous so we visited.

Lily's Puppy Days

Upon arrival the lady got all the puppies out of their pen one by one, they were all clean and fluffy as they had just had their first bath!  She told us they all had registered names, but her grandchildren had given them pet names, one was called Chico, one was called Messy, one was called Van Percy....and my one was called Lily.

I did actually think I had miss heard Linda at first and I kind of looked at Nicholas as if to say…did she just say Lily?? After a while cuddling all of the pups who were running everywhere, playing, rolling around, wanting to be cuddled, I double checked with the lady. The one I had come to see, she is called Lily? Yes said Linda, my granddaughter named her. I can't get over the coincidence and I felt it was meant to be!

This was the very first photo we ever took of Lily – just six weeks old, at the breeder's house. I fell in love with her the second I saw her.

That tiny face, the white chin, the little glint in her eye… she was ours from that moment on.

The First Few Days

It's hard to believe how tiny Lily was when she first came home. These photos were taken on the first few days at eight weeks old. She was tiny when she arrived. A little bundle of joy.

She was quite nervous as of course she had been taken from her safe environment with her mum and siblings, but she soon started to follow me around. She sat between my furry slipper boots while I was at the kitchen sink and Nicholas snapped such a comical photo of her. Then we both cuddled on the sofa and she took a nap. It's so tiring being a puppy!

It can't be easy for a young puppy moving away from everything they have known to a new family. This was our first ever puppy as all of our previous pets were rescued and we either had them for their retirement with us, or cats seemed to find us and ask to be looked after.

So even thought Lily was nervous at joining our family, we were quite nervous about making sure we looked after her in the best way we possibly could.

Early Puppy Adventures

Lily soon found her feet and when she wasn't sleeping, she was pretty hard work. She got into quite a bit of mischief and I don't think I worked on my drawings for many weeks after her arrival looking after her, although she did nap quite a bit and I was able to get on with some jobs and housework. It was hard to tire her out! These photos are of her at 8 weeks old playing in the garden with her favourite toy of the moment and a plant pot.

For the first 4 years we were on the go with her constantly. She had so much energy so we did numerous short walks at the start and then as she got older we were able to take her on lots of much longer hikes.

She might have been small, but she already had plenty of attitude… and a bark that didn't quite match her size! From that day on, no flowerpot was ever truly safe again.

Lily's Training Achievements

When Lily was younger, we took her to dog training classes for several years. She worked her way through the Kennel Club's Good Citizen Dog Scheme – Bronze, Silver, and Gold – and passed them all with flying colors.

She also earned a few extra rosettes through our local dog club along the way. She's always been clever and eager to please... when it suits her... and she absolutely loved the training sessions.

As you can see, she's very proud of her achievements – and we are too!

Like a Little Snow Yeti with a Nose

Lily gives us endless laughs – she's full of personality and always up to something. We try to catch her in the act whenever we can, especially during her more comical moments.

She's always finding new ways to entertain us, whether it's playing in the snow or just being her naturally funny self.

Grooming and Bath Time

Lily puts up with a bath; she doesn't love it, but she doesn't absolutely hate it. Tibetan Terriers have a double coat, which means a soft undercoat and a longer outer one. It's beautiful, but it holds water like a sponge.

After her bath, we use a high-velocity blaster to dry her properly. Again... she puts up with it! It gets through that thick coat and looks lovely when dry.

She goes to the groomer every eight weeks for a full trim and tidy. When she comes back, she looks spotless and smells like she's just stepped out of a very fancy salon.

Lily and the Garden Animals

We have had chickens in our cottage garden ever since we moved in, I don't think I could be without some hens in the garden. As you can see in the photo, Lily was sniffing our Buff Orpington rooster. He was a very laid back chappy which was good. The chickens didn't seem to mind and she always kept a respectful distance from the boss rooster. They got on surprisingly well!

We don't have those hens or the rooster anymore, but we do have a new batch of hens, which she equally keeps her watchful eye over!

Holiday Spirit and Special Occasions

Lily was given these festive bows and a red polka dot bandana by a friend one Christmas, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. That said, they didn't stay on for long – she's a professional at getting accessories off in record time.

Still, for the few moments they lasted, she was the picture of holiday cheer.

Lily continues to be the heart of our home and our constant companion in the studio. At nearly 12 years old, she's still full of character and brings joy to every day.