One Year With Rosie

Last Wednesday, we marked a whole year since Rosie, our Tibetan terrier pup, joined our family.



I can't get my head around how it's already been an entire year! I'd swear it was only five minutes ago that we brought that little black and white bundle of fur and teeth home from the breeders, and began our adventure as first time dog owners. The year's passed by soooo fast.

It's passed by in a blur of puppy cuddles, tummy rubs (and lots of them- she's a tummy rub whore), cheeky antics, amazement and disbelief at said antics, comedy moments, knitwear and hosiery theft attempts, daily training for the canine vocal Olympics, hyper bursts of puppy energy, mountain goat impersonations, training, learning, trial and error, play, companionship, excitement, exhaustion, despair, destruction, but still plenty of love and patience (at least from me), and lots of fun and laughter. It's been a fun and rewarding year.

I've gained an awesome little companion, and someone who encourages me to push through the pain and spend more time out of bed, which is good for my mental and physical health. I have had trouble keeping up with her at times, and I may not be able to do the fun dog owner stuff like taking her for walks to pretty places in the countryside right now- which I wish I could as I'd really love that kind of life- but I love spending time with her, teaching her new things, playing with her, and just watching her enjoying life. The puppy cuddles are always appreciated, too.

I admit she has been hard work at times- it turns out Tibetan terrier puppies are like springer spaniels on crack- but the good definitely out-weighs the bad, and I wouldn't change her for the world. She's brought so much to my life over the last year. She's given my life purpose again.

Rosie never stops making me laugh. She has the funniest little mannerisms, makes the funniest noises, and gets up to so much mischief, which is usually more hilarious than frustrating. For me, the most memorable were the times she stole apples from the tree in the garden, ran off with a newly laid patch of turf, and somehow managed to jump over the top of her crate and on to the kitchen island to steal a pair of clean socks that had been left there, late last Summer. Luckily for her she's cute and it's impossible to stay mad at her for long. I was going to say she's far better behaved now, but she tarnished that image by giving my camera a quality check with her teeth last week. It failed.

What I love about Rosie is that she has soooo much character; I've never known another dog like her. She's so sassy and confident, and full of personality. She never stops talking, whether it's barking, yapping, chattering, whining, howling, muttering, grumbling, growing (at cats), or just murmuring while she gnaws on your fingers. Not in a problematic, out-of-control dog kind of way, just that she loves to talk. Tibetan terriers are the Siamese cats of the canine world; so chatty.  The noises she comes out with leave us in hysterics on a daily basis.

Excuse the state of the patio in this photo; the weeding got a bit neglected last Summer. I just had to include this photo of her mid-run during a game of catch... with an apple, because it makes me laugh so much. My daft dog kept asking me to throw an apple for her to fetch. Wouldn't go after the tennis balls I kept throwing... just the apple.

The little goof-ball also loves to hang out on the top of the sofa. She walks along it as sure-footed as a mountain goat, likes to keep watch out of the window, sits there to watch us in the kitchen (unless food is involved, in which case she's at our feet), waits there for family to come home, and sometimes even lies across it, gnawing on a Nylabone.

My dog is a weirdo. A cute one, but still a weirdo.

I don't think we could have found a dog with more character if we'd tried. She's hilarious.

Excuse the messy kitchen. This was Rosie last weekend, sitting on the top of the sofa. (We have an open plan kitchen / living room). Her coat has also started getting a lot more black and grey through it over the last month or so.

We might have only had her for a year, but life just would not be the same without her now. Home would be so quiet and empty without her. 

This past year has been so fun and rewarding, and hopefully just the first of what will be many happy years with my little puppy dog. I'm looking forward to seeing where they take us.

Do you have any fur babies you just can't help loving?