Six Years With Rosie

On the 1st of March, we marked six years since Rosie, our Tibetan terrier, joined our family.

Six years!

I can't believe how much time has passed since the day we brought our tiny ten-week-old black and white puppy home for the first time. It only feels like a minute since we became first-time dog owners and were enjoying the chaos of life with an adorable hyperactive puppy- or more accurately, a whirlwind with fluff and teeth. Those challenging early days when Rosie loved running off with anything not nailed down, stripping branches off of bushes in the garden, and creeping up on us to nip us with her tiny razor-sharp puppy teeth feel like they happened yesterday. It's crazy that it was over half a decade ago already.  In nine months, she'll be a senior. Can someone please slow down time just a little bit?

She often tilts her head back to watch you while you give her back rubs.

People weren't the only ones with awkward lockdown hair dos when the salons were shut!

The last six years have gone so fast, but it also feels like Rosie has been a part of the family forever. I'd swear she's always been here shadowing every meal, hogging three-quarters of the bed with a leg in my armpit, barking at every squirrel that has the audacity to scurry across her garden, and demanding games of fetch from everyone the moment you enter the house. I can barely remember what life was like before her, and I don't really want to. Life must have been so quiet and dull without her.

Demanding I held her paw

Happy pup after opening presents on her 6th birthday.

Six-year-old Rosie is, thankfully, less hyper and much more chilled than she was as a puppy, but she hasn't lost any of her sass or personality over the years. She's a little weirdo who sits on the sofa like a person, climbs like a mountain goat, and often sleeps with her front legs rigid in the air like no creature I've ever seen. (Does anyone else's dog do this or is mine just weird)? She loves sweetcorn and marrowfat peas, ripping the squeakers out of toys, sleeping on the back of the sofa, and opening presents, and would sell her soul for a tennis ball if she knew what a soul was, or how to bargain with the devil.

'Draw me like one of your French girls.'

I have no idea.

Smiling after opening presents and making a mess on Christmas morning 2021.

She also loves a good cuddle, and would do anything for a back rub or belly rub- but hates her face being touched when she's trying to concentrate on getting a piece of whatever you're eating. There's no time for affection when there's food involved. Priorities, and all that. She's my little snuggle buddy, joining me for a nap when I'm in too much pain to get out of bed- though, she also loves to kick me in the stomach or leg while she's dozing and trying to get comfortable. I'm forever covered in bruises from where she kicks off from my legs, pushing me closer to the edge of the bed each time. I think she's really just trying to kick me off the bed to claim it for herself.

She still makes me smile and laugh every day with her quirky little mannerisms, and all the different barks and noises she makes, chattering to us as if she thinks we speak the same language. She always lets you know when she wants something, be it your food, her daily Denta Stick, when it's time to go out before bed, a random sock on the bench, or the twelfth game of fetch of the day, and each alert is different. If there was an award for the chattiest, most demanding dog, it would go to Rosie, no question. 

Smiling because I had food.

I'll admit, she can be a pain in the butt at times, especially when she won't stop barking, but I wouldn't trade her. She's brought so much to my life these past six years, and makes every housebound day less dull and lonely. She might not always be the best behaved dog, but she's the best, funniest, and most affectionate doggo, and I love that crazy little bark machine, quirks an' all. 

Happy 6th Gotcha Day, Rosie Roo. I hope we get to celebrate many more together.

Other Rosie Posts You Might Enjoy

Four Years With Rosie

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!

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!

Snow Day

On Friday the 1st, we finally received our first snow fall of the season here in Oxfordshire. I awoke to find the world outside my window was blanketed in 12cm of pristine white snow, and was getting deeper by the minute, which naturally put me in a good mood because I bloody love snow! We don't get snow often where I live- a couple of times each winter if we're lucky, every few years if we're not- so I still find it magical whenever it arrives.

I sat at my bedroom window and watched the snow fall for a while, and once it was light enough, I threw on some clothes, and headed out in to the garden to take a few photos and have a play with my new Instax camera. I had hoped to make it outside and get photos of the unspoiled snow before my dog, Rosie, returned home from her morning walk with my Dad and blemished it with her paw prints, but I wasn't fast enough. They came through the door just as I made it down the stairs. There went any chance I had of snapping pictures of flawless untouched snow.

Rosie adores snow, as we found out the first time she experienced snow on the ground just over a year ago, and dashed out in to the garden with me with a full blown attack of the zoomies, brought on by sheer joy. I could not have stopped her from joining me if I'd tried. (Not that I would've). She was rapturously leaping around after her ball in the snow like a spring lamb, sinking up to the top of her legs in the deepest spots, and launching snow-caked tennis balls in my direction for me to throw for her again and again. Rosie either throws her ball down at you from her mouth with dramatic emphasis (here's your fucking tennis ball!), or demands a game of tug of war with it before she'll consider letting go (which is what she's asking for in the photos where she's pressed up against my polka dotted legs); there is no inbetween. She couldn't always find the ball under all that snow, leaving me to sink my hands in to the icy wet slush and freeze my fingers off to retrieve a few for her (note to self: must buy waterproof gloves!), but my clever girl located most of them. She's come a long way since her last snow-day when she didn't understand where the balls were disappearing to each time they sank in the snow. Rosie's an intelligent little lady, but she can also be kinda dumb sometimes.

I'm not sure who enjoyed playing ball in the snow more; Rosie or myself. It was freezing cold, but I loved standing out in the snow, feeling the chill on my cheeks, and snowflake after snowflake land on my hair and eyelashes, skin and clothes, while I watched her having the time of her life. She gets so much joy from running around after a ball and playing in the snow. It melts my heart seeing her so happy. It's true what they say about the little things in life... they really are the best.



So, my intention to take photos of the snow-draped scenery turned in to a great opportunity to take photos of my dog having fun in the snow, and, let's face it, photos of my cute little snow dog are always going to be better than photos of a snowy but ugly suburban garden minus one snow dog, aren't they? I captured some great shots of Rosie looking cute in the white stuff, along with a few crappy ones of the scenery, too, and I know which ones I prefer.

Once I'd reached my limit, I retreated back to the warmth, and had to bribe Rosie indoors with treats. She was having so much fun being a snow dog, she didn't want to come back inside. I think she would've stayed out there all day if we'd let her, but I was conscious of her getting too cold- even if Tibetan terriers are perfectly equipped for the snow. They were originally bred for the snowy mountains of Tibet, and have a thick double coat to keep them warm, and large, round, flat feet with hair between their toes and pads, providing traction and acting as snowshoes to help them walk in the snow- something most dog breeds don't have. On the downside, they also have hairy little legs that soft, newly fallen snow likes to compact to like dreadlocks, so it can take some work to thaw her out after venturing out in fresh snow. Last time, we had to melt the snow off with a hair dryer because nothing else was working, but this time, Rosie got to work herself and gnawed most of it off with her teeth, leaving melting snow all over the carpet.  And my bare feet. Thanks, pup.



After a rest on the sofa, I went back upstairs, and continued to watch the snow fall from my bedroom window. It continued pirouetting from the sky for most of the day, and by the time it got dark, we had about 18cm on the ground. (Or so the news said). It was like a winter wonderland.

The next morning, I awoke to flawless blue skies and sunshine, and snow still draping the landscape. It had compacted down overnight, but we still had a thick covering on the ground. Of course, Rosie was eager to play in the snow again as soon as we got up, so we had a repeat of the day before, and another opportunity for photos. The last four photos were taken that day.

Two days later, the rain came and washed most of it away. I would usually be gutted that the snow had vanished so quickly, but this time I was relieved there wasn't enough snow left to disrupt my travel plans for some concert adventures that Monday morning.

...but that's another story for another day. Perhaps I'll tell you about it sometime.

Do you enjoy a good snow day, or does the snow leave you longing for hot summer days?