Four Years With Rosie

On Sunday, we celebrated four years with Rosie, our Tibetan terrier.

Four years!!

I can't believe it's been four years (and four days) since I went out to the breeder's in rural Cheltenham, and brought our tiny ten week old puppy home for the first time. It only feels like a year or two at most. The time has flown... yet, at the same time, it also feels like Rosie has been a part of the family forever. Isn't it funny how pets can reshape and redefine your life in such a short space of time?

Having Rosie in my life is so normal now, I can barely remember what life was like without her in it. Was there really a time when I didn't have a shadow whenever I ate, someone hogging three quarters of my bed during the day, or a paw jabbing me in the stomach / chest / arm pit while I sat on the sofa watching TV? Did a time actually exist when I didn't have someone to bark at every cat, squirrel, and tall head daring to move along the perimeter of the garden fence and alert me to harmless passersbys? Nope, doesn't sound right. I honestly have no idea how we ever got by without her. The house must have been so lonely without the sound of her nails clicking on the kitchen floor, her collar jingling from a good scratch, and the sound of her snoring softly on the sofa.

I would miss all those things if she wasn't here. 

My dog is the best. 

I was going to write about what Rosie means to me, how she's helped me cope with my chronic illnesses, and how much she makes me smile, but I'm not sure what I can say that I haven't already covered in previous 'Gotcha Day' posts. I thought I'd spare you a repeat of the same recycled stories and sentiments, and instead share some facts about Rosie aged four, along with some of my favourite photos of her from the last twelve months. I know I'll enjoy looking back at the photos and observations later on. If you do want to hear my sentimental stories about her, though, check out my Two Years With Rosie post.

Rosie Aged Four

♥ Hates cats and squirrels with the fire of a thousand suns.

♥ Her favourite toys are tennis balls, especially if they squeak and / or are falling apart.

♥ Equally happy with a sock, hankerchief, or a shoe, should the opportunity arise to steal one. (Even though she knows she isn't allowed to steal one).

♥ Loves soft toys, but only until she rips the squeaker out. Then they're dead to her.

♥ Would sell her soul for a belly rub. Back rubs welcome, too. The only condition for belly rubs is she must always keep a paw on you at all times.

♥ Hates having her face stroked. Will actually grab your hand with both paws and push it away, usually towards her belly.

♥ Loves cuddling up to people on the sofa. I love it when she gets all cuddly, rests her head on my knee, rolls on to her back, and just gazes up at me.

♥ Still likes to lie, sit, and sleep on top of the sofa like a cat.

♥ Also sits on the sofa like a person, with a leg draped over the arm rest.

♥ Hates being picked up almost as much as she hates cats.

♥ Wants to make friends with everybody. She always cries when she can't meet every person who comes to the door.

♥ Likes to smother you with kisses on the face (whether you like it or not) and groom your hands and arms.

♥ Her favourite pastime, besides sleeping, is playing fetch. As soon as my Mum gets home from work, she will always bring her a tennis ball and demand a game- whether my Mum wants to play or not.  It's so cute.

♥ When she stays at the kennels, she is sometimes put in with anxious dogs to make them feel less scared, and always helps bring them out of their shells. (Which amazes me as while she is chilled and content, she can be quite nervous, too- especially in new situations).

♥ The kennels also tried her in some amateur agility during an agility event, and she was the fastest of the group. Unsurprising, as she can run like the wind.

♥ Scared of fireworks, loud gusts of wind, the hoover, my bedroom curtains, and my TV ariel.

♥ Hates my phone and will usually turn away when you try to take a photo of her, unless you hold up a toy or treat behind the lens.

♥ When she is let out in to the garden, she always takes a toy or treat with her for the road.

♥ If you present multiple bags of treats to her and ask her to choose 'which one?', she will sniff them all in turn and pick one by hitting it with her paw.

♥ Her favourite treats are The Dog Deli Duck / Chicken Sausage Slices. She goes crazy for them. Will also bite your fingers off for Nature's Menu Real Meaty Treats.

♥ Loves gnawing on a good Nylabone, but can actually chew through some of them.

♥ Oddly, she loves sweetcorn. Last time we had a barbecue, she was more interested in the corn on the cob than the burgers on our plates.

♥ It turns out, she doesn't like foxes. We had a fox appear in the garden twice lately, and both times she went absolutely ballistic. (She was safely inside). I've never heard her bark so furiously before.

♥ Sleeps in the weirdest positions, often with her front legs rigid in the air.

♥ She loves being outside in the garden and would stay out there all day if we let her.

♥ Always manages to hunt down the biggest stick she can find to drag down the garden and gnaw on while lying on the garden bench.

♥ Sighs loudly, like a person, if you annoy her. 

♥ My Dad overheard a little girl call Rosie 'the pirate doggy' (because of the black patch of fur over her eye), which was the cutest thing. Rosie will forever more be known as The Pirate Doggy, and 'Long John Rosie.'

And that is four year old Rosie in a nut shell.

She's a weird little goofball, but an adorable one, too, and I wouldn't change her for the world. (Okay, maybe I'd be happy with a little less barking). She's brought so much to my life over the last four years, and even when she's being a pain in the butt, she still manages to brighten up even the worst days. I'm so glad to have her in my life. Shes's the best.

Excuse my extremely swollen arthritic hand in this shot.

If you'd like to see photos of Rosie as an adorable teeny tiny puppy on the day we brought her home, I posted some puppy photos on my Instagram on Sunday. You can also find more Rosie puppy posts linked below with plenty of puppy photo spam.

Do you have any pets? Tell me about them in the comments!

Rosie Posts You Might Also Like

Two Years With Rosie

One Year With Rosie

Snow Day 2019

Rosie's First Snow Day

Puppy Spam: Rosie 4-6 Months Old

Puppy Spam: Rosie 12-16 Weeks Old

Puppy Spam: Rosie 10-12 Weeks Old

We're Getting a Puppy!

Two Years With Rosie

Can you believe it's already been two whole years (and a week) since Rosie, my Tibetan terrier, came in to our lives? 

I honestly have no idea where the time has gone. Has it really been two years since I drove out to rural Cheltenham to collect my ten week old puppy from the breeders, and brought her home, nestled in my arms? It only feels like it was two minutes ago!

I still remember the first time I saw her. At ten weeks old, she was a tiny little thing, with the cutest stubby little legs, big round blue eyes with super long eyelashes, a speckled pink and black nose, soft fluffy snow-white fur with black patches on her face and back, and an adorable curly white tail. She was the smallest and most precious puppy I'd ever seen in real life. She looked so fragile and delicate, but she was boisterous and full of confidence, running around the breeder's conservatory with her brother and a corduroy toy fish, getting up to mischief as we humans went through the necessary paperwork to make her 'adoption' official. She was adorable and I fell in love with her there and then. (I wanted to smuggle her brother home, too, but he was already spoken for). We paid our final bill, brought her home, and she settled herself in to our home, family, and hearts straight away. We soon got to grips with life as new dog owners, and pretty soon, it was like she had always been a part of our lives.

Two years on, I couldn't imagine life without her. Life wouldn't be the same without her to keep me on my toes or cuddle up with on the sofa when I'm having a bad day. I can be having the shittiest, dullest, loneliest,  or most unbearable day of pain, and just one minute in Rosie's company will always make me feel so much better. You just can't beat her love, and companionship. There's never any judgement, just loyal, unconditional love and support. and a cuddle right when you need it. I don't know how she does it, but she always make any situation so much better.  

Her cheeky antics, comical little mannerisms, and vocal personality leave me in hysterics on a daily basis. She makes a hundred different noises that each mean something different and isn't afraid to tell you what she wants. Lord help you if you can't figure out what that is! 

She'll do anything for a belly rub, taps you with her paw until you get the message, will grab your hand back with her paws if you try to take it away, and if she's sitting beside you, she likes to keep a leg on you at all times, as if to make it clear that you're hers. I often get a paw jabbing in me in the stomach, chest, or even my arm pit while I'm trying to watch the TV! That dog doesn't quite understand boundaries. 

One of the most comical things about her is she often sits on the sofa like a person, either like a noble lady draped over a chaise longue, or with her arm casually resting over the arm of the chair looking like The Most Interesting Man In The World. Well, that's when she isn't hanging out on top of the sofa like a cat, of course. Where the hell did I find this dog?!

She's also a total cuddle monster and loves smothering everyone with kisses- whether you want them or not. Usually not, but the cuddles are always appreciated. Her fur is so soft, it's like cuddling up with a big living , breathing teddy bear.

Of course, she's not perfect, and can be a pain in the bum sometimes, but who isn't? I love her anyway.

My only regret is that I can't  take her out on walks and adventures like normal dog owners, and wish that I could, but I do love playing ball with her in the garden, when I'm up to it. Her excitement and happy little face always makes my heart burst, especially when she brings her toys to me to play with her. I don't know who enjoys playtime more; me or Rosie!

Rosie has brought so much happiness to my life over the last two years. She's made two difficult, unpleasant years so much more bearable, and gave me reasons to smile when I wanted to break down and cry from pain and stress. I couldn't have asked for a better companion. 

It's funny; I'd wanted a shaggy-haired dog since I was a little girl (thanks to TV shows like Woof, Come Outside, and Little House on the Prairie), but never ever thought I'd get one of my own. How lucky am I?

Happy second Gotcha Day, Rosie! Here's to (hopefully) many more.

You Might Also Like

One Year With Rosie

Rosie's First Snow Day

Puppy Spam: Rosie 4-6 Months Old

Puppy Spam: Rosie 12-16 Weeks Old

Puppy Spam: Rosie 10-12 Weeks Old

We're Getting a Puppy!

For more photos of Rosie, follow my Instagram and check out the hashtag #Rosiethetibetanterrier.

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?