Saturday, February 6, 2010

A Boy and his Doggie

Tillman has been a member of our family for a long time. Buddy got him our senior year of college in 2002. Tillman is named after two buildings on Clemson's campus. Tillman Hall is one of the oldest buildings on campus and where all the education classes are held. His middle name, Lee, is the building where all the construction and architecture classes are held. When he was a puppy, he was small enough to fit inside the pockets of our jackets! Now he is seven and a half. He can't fit into our pockets anymore, but still loves to cuddle.

I was worried how Tillman would take to Quinn after he was born, but they quickly became best friends. Here they are when Quinn was about 3 or 4 months old. You can't tell in this picture, but they are the exact same size at this time. I have another picture somewhere of Tillman on his back beside Quinn and they are the same length.



This picture was taken a few weeks after the other one, but you can see that Tillman loves being with his Quinn. He's even smiling!



This one was taken back in the spring of 2009. Tillman loves to lay on fleece blankets.



One thing I haven't mentioned about Tillman is that he always seems to know when someone is sick or not feeling right. He will stay with that person all day, snuggling with them or laying nearby. If the sick person walks through the house, Tillman is on their heels. For instance, when Buddy had his appendix out a few summers ago, Tillman was with him the whole time he was recuperating. The night I went into labor with Quinn, Tillman would not settle down in our bed. He got off the bed and scratched at the door. When I let him out of the bedroom, he went to the kitchen and barked at his dish...code for "Get me more water". When I bent down to get his dish, MY water broke. I truly think he knew I was about to go into labor.

So I wasn't too surprised when I walked into the living room today and saw this.



Quinn hasn't been feeling too great today...fever and coughing. So I wasn't surprised to see that "Nurse Tillman" was on the job! And I know the next time one of us is sick, Tillman will be right there with his special touch! I am so thankful that God made animals for this world. They have a way of becoming such a special part of the family. Those of you with pets know what I mean!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

That is a sweet post and great pics. Hope he feels better soon!!

Heather said...

Tillman's personality reminds me of our Smokey. Hope Quinn feels better

Kim said...

Sounds like Tillman is very special to your family. I do think that dogs can sense things before we humans can. Sweet post!

Andrea said...

i can't WAIT for tanner to have "his doggie"!!! tanner is terrified of dogs, and i'm hoping to break him of that. as SOON as our house is finished, we are going to get him his very own golden retriever!! he's actually excited about it, i shocked, and he's even named it...Joshua, after Joshua Bailey...we are trying to talk him into just Bailey!!

you are absolutely right about dogs and their "senses"! we have a chihuahua and when one of us is "going to be sick" he won't settle down, he's constantly walking around. Peanut doesn't care for tanner and alex too much, but he still watches after them.

cute post, hope Quinn starts feeling better!

Angie Tullock said...

Animals are a special creation from God. I often think about how God was so created that just one species of animal was not enough so he made thousands! That's how Awesome our God is! Hope Quinn is feeling better soon.