08/08/2026
Our beautiful Tilly 🤍🐾
We lost our girl over a month ago.
Today, her mum Louise shared the heartbreaking news with us that our beautiful Westie baby, Tilly, had crossed the rainbow and gone to the other side, to that beautiful place where we believe all our precious pups eventually go.
I like to think it is somewhere filled with warmth, endless food, soft beds, sunshine and every dog they ever loved waiting to greet them.
And perhaps, one day when our own time comes, if we have lived kindly enough, loved deeply enough and left enough goodness behind us, we might be lucky enough to find our way there too.
Tilly had been coming to us for years.
In fact, she was coming to us before Pet Stays was even Pet Stays.
She grew older with us.
We watched the years pass through her little face, her habits, her routines and all those tiny things that eventually become such a huge part of your memories.
And what a character she was.
Tilly absolutely loved animals on television. Horses especially had better watch themselves. The second she saw one, she made absolutely certain they knew she was there. Barking at that television with complete seriousness, as though the animals on the screen really ought to be taking notice of this little Westie giving them instructions from the lounge room.
And children laughing.
Oh, she loved the sound of children laughing.
Something about those giggles would light her up. She would become excited and bounce around like a little kid herself.
Tilly loved life.
And Tilly loved food.
That girl could be completely sound asleep for hours. Absolutely gone.
Then you could quietly open the tiniest packet somewhere in the house and suddenly...
Boom.
Tilly.
Standing beside you like the Phantom.
Where did you come from, girl? 😂🤍
As she grew older, Louise continued trusting us with her precious girl, including during the times when Tilly was dealing with one thing or another that comes with ageing.
That trust meant so much to us.
Tilly was resilient.
She was gentle with the little ones, but she also knew exactly how to deal with anyone who thought they might become a bit too bossy.
In her later visits she had become something of a matriarch at Pet Stays.
The old girl who had seen it all.
My name for her was rarely simply Tilly.
It was always...
Tul... Tul... Tulli.
And she knew it.
I would hold her close, bury my face into those beautiful little cheeks, smother her with kisses and breathe in that unmistakable smell that belonged only to her.
Anyone who has truly loved a dog knows what I mean.
There is a smell that belongs to your babies.
And somehow you never forget it.
Even sitting here writing this, I can still remember Tilly's smell so clearly that for a second it feels as though she is sitting right here in my lap.
That is the bit that hurts.
We knew she had left this world over a month ago, but we only received the news today.
So I am going to be a little selfish.
In my heart, I am going to pretend that until today she was still here somewhere.
That our Tilli only left us today.
Because somehow that gives me one more month where I can imagine her still toddling around, sleeping deeply, hunting down mysterious food packets and yelling at horses on television.
But physically here or not, I believe something of these beautiful souls stays with us.
I sense our babies who have gone before.
Sometimes in a thought that arrives from nowhere.
Sometimes in a memory.
Sometimes in a feeling you cannot really explain.
And Tilly, I hope you come back and visit Pet Stays every now and then.
You knew this place.
You loved this place.
And, baby girl, you were so deeply loved here.
You weren't simply a client's dog.
You were one of our babies.
One of the special ones who became woven into the history of Pet Stays and into our lives.
So run free now, Tul Tul Tulli.
Eat everything you want.
Chase every horse you can find.
Find all your Pet Stays brothers and sisters who made the journey before you and please tell them something for us.
Tell them we haven't forgotten them.
Tell them we still talk about them.
Tell them they still make us smile.
Tell them we miss them.
And tell them we still love them very, very much.
And please find Jakey for us.
He's the soft one.
Make sure nobody is bothering him, okay?
Look after each other until we get there.
We loved you with everything we had, Tilly.
We still do.
And we always will.
Sleep peacefully, beautiful girl.
This one is going to be a hard one.
Love you forever, Tul... Tul... Tulli. 🤍🐾🌈
Jeannene, Reza and your Pet Stays family.
