05/30/2026
Because I'm kinda wiped out from being a mess this week, I don't know if I will be able to post a video this weekend. Tillie Bell had some seizures last month, and we started noticing changes. In the last 4 weeks, her decline was rapid. Our vet was treating her for a heart condition, and a couple of weeks ago drained some fluid. I contacted the people who arranged for us to take Tillie in the first place, after our mutual friend passed away and left behind a whole pack of rescue dogs. One of those people is a vet and until she moved here, was Tillie Bell's vet. They offered for us to go to Auburn, Alabama to have him look her over. After another drain of fluid (3 liters/7 pounds🫣) and an ultrasound, we found out my sweet girl had carcinoma that was growing extremely fast. We stayed the night at a Motel 6 and overnight she had started producing enough fluid in her gut that you could see it filling up. We really knew the day before though, when we went back to the vet after the ultrasound, that we wouldn't be bring Miss Tillie home with us.
I did not mean to love this dog so hard. I don't even know how it happened. And I think she felt the same way about me. I was just taking in a dog that my friend left behind. Just giving her a place to live out her life. But it turns out, we needed each other and neither of us knew it.
The first picture was taken the day I realized Tillie Bell had captured my heart. Maybe two weeks after she arrived. We were spinning around in the front yard, and she started jumping up on me. I love this picture. It's my favorite of us. The second picture, I took today. Tillie Bell had really grown close to my sweet husband these last few months. He took such good care of her. And me. She loved him. Me too.
I don't how to express my gratitude to Linda's friends who took care of us these last couple of days. They were so kind, gracious, and charitable. Thinking about the way they treated us makes me sob all over again.
We left Miss Tillie Bell in Auburn, and she will be buried with her first mama Linda, and all the rest of her crew who went before Tillie.
I can't believe how much this one hurts 🙏🏼❤️🩹🙏🏼
