Tillie and Rex - A Thousand Word Story

Tillie was born in River Oaks, an old and affluent Houston neighborhood. Her mother, Poppy, was from a long line of blue ribbon AKC Pugs. Retired from the show ring, Poppy was ready to continue the lineage with her first litter of purebred puppies.

But Romeo, the scrappy Chihuahua mix who lived next door, had other plans. He was desperately in love with Poppy, and nothing could keep him from trying to get under, over, or through the fence to be with her. Poppy’s owners kept a close watch over her. She had a date with another pedigreed Pug soon and they had high hopes for her puppies.

One afternoon, Poppy was accidentally left unattended in the backyard. Romeo saw his chance and scaled the eight-foot-high fence to be with his one true love.

That one chance was all it took and a couple of months later, Poppy gave birth to two healthy puppies, who didn’t look much like either parent. Fortunately, little dogs were in high demand, because of the the Covid-19 pandemic, and homes were quickly found for both. The little girl went to live with a family in a suburb east of Houston and the little boy was given to an elderly woman in a city about 100 miles away.

The little girl puppy missed her mother and her brother fiercely. She cried every night and paced the house and yard at her new home all day. She escaped through a hole in the fence and was caught several times, but one day she was too quick and ran too fast for her adoptive family to catch her before she disappeared out of sight.

The tiny girl was only four months old and all alone in the world, searching for her mother, her brother, and the nice house in River Oaks. The weather had turned cold, and she was hungry all the time, when a nice man and his wife noticed her in their yard and gave her some food. She still wanted to find her mother, but she also wanted to be warm and fed, so she let them take her inside.

The nice people had two large dogs that slept in their kennels at night. The little girl puppy was afraid at first, but soon learned that the big dogs couldn’t get out unless the people let them, so before long she was brave enough to start barking at them. Although they were growing quite fond of her, the nice people decided that keeping the little dog probably wasn’t the best idea, so they checked the local shelters and passed out notices in their neighborhood, but she didn’t belong to anyone. They posted her picture on Facebook and asked if any of their friends might be able to help give her a home.

Lots of people responded and the little girl dog soon found a permanent home with friends of the nice people. She moved to Houston, but not the River Oaks neighborhood she remembered. Her new house was a condominium, and she wasn’t allowed outside without a harness and a leash so she couldn’t get away. But her new house was comfortable and safe, and she got lots of love, treats and toys. Her new parents named her Tillie and took her to play with other dogs at daycare several times every week.

Tillie loved her new parents, her new daycare friends, and her new cat-brother, Marlowe. He wasn’t anything like the brother she remembered, but as the months went by, her memories of her first family began to wane.

Meanwhile, Tillie’s brother lived in a little house with a small garden, doted on by a kind, elderly lady who named him Rex. He also never forgot his sister, but he had a happy life and in time, his memory faded as well.

One night, the lady who looked after Rex became ill. She grew sicker and sicker until finally someone came and took her away. Rex went to stay with the lady’s grown daughter, but she had several children and other dogs which made him nervous and snappy, so he had to live in the bathroom. He didn’t like being locked up alone in there very much and tried his best to dig his way through the door. This made the lady’s daughter angry, and she took him to the animal shelter so he could find a new home.

The people at the animal shelter were nice, but everyone was very busy and there were lots of dogs, so Rex didn’t get many pets or cuddles, and the food was dry and hard, so he didn’t eat very much. It was noisy and he had to sleep on the concrete. He was very unhappy and wished the lady, or even her daughter, would come back for him. Before long, a couple came and took him home with them. They didn’t have children or other dogs and gave him plenty of love. He became relaxed and quickly learned to trust them, so he never snapped at them. It was the week before Christmas and although Rex didn’t know it, he got his wish. A forever home.

The people at the shelter had taken Rex’s picture when he arrived, for their website so people could see what a handsome little dog he was. His photo was also posted to the shelter’s TikTok and seen by a friend of Tillie’s mom. The friend sent a link to Tillie’s mom so she could see the dog at the shelter who looked just like Tillie.

Tillie’s mom messaged a picture of Tillie to the shelter. They were amazed and delighted and shared Tillie’s Instagram account with Rex’s new family. Before long, the two families arranged a reunion between the long-lost Chug siblings, who had almost, but never completely, given up on finding each other.

It was the Best Christmas Ever, for Tillie and Rex. And they both lived happily ever after.

The End

Shelter and rescue organizations everywhere are filled with dogs, cats, and every imaginable kind of pet who has either lost their home, or never had one to begin with. Please consider adopting from your local shelter. A huge shout out to the Aggieland Humane Society, whose picture of Tillie’s doppelgänger, Rex, prompted this story. Thank you for allowing me to use your photo of Rex in my column this week.

If these nice folks are local to you, check out all their adoptable animals, or send them a little something for Christmas, or any time!  Aggieland Humane Society