My Pet Story: There's never a dull moment with Tilly


Tilly at the beach in Victoria, Australia.

My Pet Story

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My dog's name is Tilly and she is a Kelpie/red-heeler mix. She is mostly brown and white, with a big brown patch over her left eye. She is full of energy and keeps me very busy and active.

We live in Melbourne, Australia, where she follows me around everywhere I go.

She came from a dog shelter when she was just 12 weeks old; she is now four-and-a-half years old.

She is very clever and knows many tricks such as shake and roll over. She can jump very high and catch balls in her mouth.

She is also very cheeky and likes to try to break the rules. We like to go jogging together and she can run very fast.

Carl Tolley and his pet Tilly at a pub in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Carl Tolley and his pet Tilly at a pub in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

There is a very nice creek near my house where we go running and Tilly likes to chase other dogs and go swimming in the water. In the summer months, we need to be very careful of snakes as I have seen them slithering around in the long grass around the creek.

She loves to meet other dogs and runs around and plays with them at the dog park. She has one very good dog friend whose name is Morty.

When I see Morty at the dog park I know that Tilly is in for a very good run around and will be very tired when we get home.

She also loves playing fetch with a tennis ball; if I don't throw the ball fast enough she will whine and whinge.Tilly loves to play with sticks. She will always bring them to me for me to throw but does not always want to let me take them off her.

She sometimes will bury her sticks and bones in my backyard, even sometimes burying them in potplants after first removing the plants from them.

Tilly likes to come to cafes for coffee and is always sure to make herself the centre of attention. She will often manage to get herself a treat from the cafe staff and plenty of pats from passers-by.

The other week Tilly came to work with me. I work buying flowers for a florist and I drive around the flower farms on the outskirts of Melbourne.

Tilly at one of the flower farms. Tilly at one of the flower farms.

I convinced my boss to let me bring her along for the day, I said she would help me out. She came along with me and had a lot of fun playing with other dogs from the farms and looking at all the different types of flowers.

Unfortunately, she wasn't much help and she got muddy pawprints all through the van that I had to clean out once we got back.

Everyone at the florist loved having her around for the day and they have been asking when her next shift will be. Hopefully soon.

Tilly loves riding in the car with me, she goes straight to sleep. I am planning a big road trip at the end of the year up to Darwin and back. Tilly is going to come with me and we are both looking forward to it so much.

She loves coming camping with me when I go with my friends. When we go camping down the beach she loves to chase little critters along the sand and get her paws in the water, but she is a bit scared of the waves.

When we go camping, she turns into a wild animal, but as soon as we get home she turns back into a precious little city dog and curls up on the couch.

Tilly is a great little dog and is such a good friend. I love her.

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Pets , family pets , dogs , dog behaviour

   

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