HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

Tilly the Lady Bug...10.31.2007 

Tilly the Lion...10.31.2008

Tilly the Monkey...10.31.2009

Editor's Note: Every year Tilly dresses up in costume to go trick-or-treating with the kids around Monmouth Medical Hospital with the children who are sick and staying in-hospital during one of the best days of the year! This is a treat not only for the children who thought they would be missing out on all of that coveted candy, but also for the staff of the hospital who get to see the kids roaming around the hospital dressed in costumes asking for goodies. Although, Tilly does not particularly like to get dressed up in costume, she seems to forget about it once she sees the kids light up! when she gets onto the floor. After the first year of trick-or-treating around the entire hospital I enlisted the hospital's Radio Flyer® to lug the beast around as she is too slow, and usually too hot to keep up with the kids. It is just another fabulous day in the life of Tilly the Wonder-mutt! Enjoy!

YIPPEE...YAHOO!!! It is Halloween, and one of my most favoritest days of the year! Today, is a special day for me because I get to dress up...alright so I don't like putting on stupid clothes as I prefer to be in the nude, but if I wear a costume I get to go to the hospital and go trick-or-treating with all of my favorite non-fur friends around the hospital, so I must endure a bit of humiliation in order to partake in something very special and very fun. My first year I was a lady bug and my friends were a princess, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), and a ghost. The second year I was a lion and my friends were Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) and a witch....we did not even plan this, how perfect! And this year I was a monkey and my friends were Darth Vadar, a mummy, and a princess. Once everyone gets their costumes in order and their bags ready we are off...oh yeah and I have to get into the Radio Flyer®, because I am too slow....humpf...what does everyone expect I have short legs! Now we are off and the adventure begins.

We go to every floor in the hospital and knock on the doors. Everyone yells,"TRICK-OR-TREAT" and then they give us candy. I am actually not exactly sure what "candy" is as I have never been allowed to eat anything that we collect, but my friends all seem to be very excited by this transaction, so in turn, I get very wiggly and excited too. We go through some areas in the hospital that I have never ever visited before. Down dark corridors that lead into rooms that have blow-up, creepy, castles and ghosts floating through the air. Everyone we meet is so happy to see us. Smiles are broad across everyone's face and cameras are taken out FLASH...FLASH...FLASH! I think this is like walking the red carpet..SNAP...SNAP..SNAP, or at least that is what my non-fur friends are saying! The path seems to take us in circles and I am always so confused. Where are we? Are we still in the hospital? Just when I think we are lost in this maze we open another door that unveils more people I know, and they are giving us more candy. What a wonder it all is! Everyone is happy and full of life, which is a super big deal when you consider how sick all of the children are (except me of course). Just when my friends are starting to tucker out we make one more turn and WHAMO we are back to where we began. Now we get to inspect our booty. All of my friends like this part the best, as they get very giggly and silly when they go through their bags. Sometimes if I am lucky they will let me jump on their beds and I can put my big, ol', bully head inside their bags to see what all of the hull-a-ba-loo is about. It sure does smell good, but I am not allowed to eat any of their sweet treats., because then I would have to go to the doggie hospital for a sore belly. OOOWWWIEEE!

Next, Alison and I to hand out the extra bags of candy that we collected for the children who were not healthy enough to join us on our adventure. This happens to be one of my favorite moments of the day. When we walk into their rooms they are very sad because they missed out on the fun, but then we hand them a satchel filled to the brim with candy galore, and a smile starts to creep back over their faces and their eyes light up. They are so happy because they were not forgotten, and they get to enjoy the spoils of this special day too.

Halloween is a fun day for everyone: animals, children, and adults too. So get those costumes ready and put on your face paint and get out there all ready...what are you waiting for!

What will happen tomorrow to Tilly? Will Tilly ever get to take off that costume? Will she ever be allowed to eat a piece of candy? You never know what tomorrow will bring, so check in again tomorrow and find out! Big, bully hugs.

Bullies and dolphins, and more dolphins! Oh My!

 

 

 

Editor's Note: This was an adventure from last summer when a large pod of dolphins moved into the Shrewsbury River. Although it was very exciting to witness these amazing creatures swimming in our backyard, it was also nerve-racking because we did not know what their future survival would be. Tilly on the other hand did not care about the future she only cares about the now, and the now was NEW FRIENDS!!!! So I hope you enjoy another fabulous tale of unexpected friendship and learning to love even though we are different.

What a day, what a day! When I woke up this morning...ok, ok, so it was more like very late morning...the sun was shining, the humidity was low, and there was a glorious breeze that was keeping the temperatures bearable. (I am not sure if you know this but Bulldogs get very hot, very fast, and can get seriously ill if they become too hot! So you have to be careful with me because I may look rough, tough, and invincible, but I am very fragile; just like a magnolia flower!) So after I ate my breakie (aka breakfast) and got cleaned up Alison and Andy got me ready to go out on our boat.....YIPPPEEEE THE BOAT!!! I love going out on the boat. There is so much to see, and so many smells to sniff. I get to ride as Co-Captain on our vessel, so my seat is a bit higher up and I can see everything. One of my favorite moments on our boat is when a waverunner uses our wake (waves that push off the back of the boat) to jump off of. It is so exciting to see them fly in the sky! Watching everyone having fun all around me makes me a very happy bulldog!

After the initial excitement of being at sea faded, I started to settle in and relax. The warmth of the sun was rolling over my fur and lulling me into a deep sleep. Just then I heard a "SPLASH!" I sat up immediately and looked to left then to the right. I even turned around and around but I could not find where the sounds were coming from.  Maybe it was just a fish, a really big fish...humpf! As I looked, and looked out onto the water the warmth of the sun started to wrap itself around me again and I fell asleep.....zzzzzzzzzz! "SPLASH. SPLASH, SPLASH!" There it was again, but it was louder and more splashing right in front of us. Alison stood up and started shrieking, "Oh my, did you see that? What is it?" "They're dolphins, they're dolphins!" Alison squealed with delight. I jumped up on all fours to see what a dolphin was. Then I saw them. They were gray and had a triangle on their back. They would jump up and out of the water and their tails, well I think they are tails, would wiggle in the air. There were not one or two of these dolphins, but 20 of them all together jumping and frolicking together in the water. Oooooh, what fun they were having. I was trying to get out on the front of the boat but Alison would not have it! Why won't she let me play with my new friends, they looked friendly and they were having such fun in the water. I tried and tried to get to my new friends but to no avail. Then Alison looked me in my face and said that I do not have a tail, or flippers, or a dorsal fin, and I can not swim, so I can not play with these friends, but we can all sit and enjoy the beauty and be a part of their fun from inside the boat. And that is just what we did.

Another new adventure has unfolded, more friends were met, and my life as a bulldog just keeps on getting better, and better.

Who will Tilly meet tomorrow. What new adventure awaits her, well you will have to come back tomorrow and find out! Be well friends.

Best Friends

Tilly and her best friend Coal

Editor's Note: This story reminds is a great tale of  friendship, fun, and always being up for the next adventure. Everyday Tilly reminds me of the simpler things in life, i.e. patience, happiness in the small wonders of the world, and love.  I hope you enjoy our tale!

Well just when I thought my day was over—not even close! I mean can't a bulldog get some sleep...humpf! At around 3 pm, Alison was working and I was snoozing in my bed when the phone rang. It was Coal's (my bestest friend in the whole wide world) Mom asking if we could go and meet them at the beach. Well usually Mom and I do not go for a long walk on the days that I go the hospital because it is such a far walk all around the hospital, I mean come on...have you seen my little legs, and the fact that the hospital is tremendous. But for some reason today was different. The sun was still shining brightly and the wind was still minimal so Mom said that we could go. I have to admit I was a little cranky going to meet up with Coal—but maybe it was because he was full of energy and very Tigger like, while I was still in sleepy-mode back at my house in my bed. Whatever the case was I snapped right out of it. The tide was low and the ocean was so calm. It truly was magnificent! We went for a 3 mile walk and all of the while Coal and I romped and played, and bit and tumbled together. Mom found sea glass galore—brown, green, white, and even some blue! We rolled around in the sand and played tug-of-war with any object that Coal and I found. It is so wonderful to have such an amazing bond with my friend Coal—we have such fun together. The only thing that could have made this day even better, not that I am complaining by any means, is if there were some more new friends to play with. I mean I feel it is always merrier with more—right. We walked and played for about two hours and let me tell you those two hours were so peaceful. The sound of crashing waves and gulls overhead—amazing. By then it was getting dark and time for all of us to reside back to our homes. This day was really packed filled with adventures. All in all it was a great day.

I wonder who Tilly will meet up with tomorrow? Do not forget to check in to see what happens next in The Adventures of Tilly the Wonder-mutt. Be well my friends, Tilly.

Goobers Galore!

Editor's Note:This story is from about two years ago when Tilly and I had just started our Therapy work at Monmouth Medical's Children's Hospital. When we first started I was always nervous that we would do something wrong, or that Tilly would not perform on cue, or not obey commands. So when you read this story and it gets to the good part, keep in the back of your head that I was always trying to be perfect. I know, I know unreasonable, unattainable, incomprehensible! Especially when half of the team is an animal! ENJOY!

Ok, so it started off like this—what a glorious day—the sun is shining and the wind was a mere breath on my fur! What a great day. Time to get up and get ready for the hospital. Alison and I headed in to the hospital for our rounds with the children. Oh, what a sight all of the little kids just waiting for me to arrive—it is like I am famous or even better royalty. My first stop was....well not exactly the Valerie Fund....no I got side-tracked. I popped in to say hi to my friend who works in the offices on the 2nd floor. I saw her door open and I pulled Mommy right in there—oooooh you must be curious what was in there—well let me think—TREATS!! My friend keeps allergy free treats in her office just for my visit—how cool is that!!!! I know, I know how could a dog have allergies? Well, just like some children I get itchy and hives if I eat foods that I am allergic too. Oh, which foods am I allergic too, well anything with wheat, corn, or soy in it! No worries about me though because Alison takes good care of me and makes sure I never eat anything that is bad for, or at least she tries. Anyway, on with the story, I was kinda being a pig about taking all of those delicious treats from my friend and Alison got upset with me and made me leave the office and start my rounds. So that is just what I did. I saw some of my old friends in the Valerie Fund getting check ups and blood work—I hung out with them so they would not be scared—and I think it worked. They were all laughing and giggling and playing video games. The good news was all of my friends were just getting check-ups—no chemotherapy today—YEAH!! We then headed over to the In-Ward, this is where children stay in the hospital overnight, where my first stop is always at the nurses station. Oh yes—you have to say hi to the girls—I come prancing in and I am wiggling and bobbing and shake my tushy for everyone to see. I got rubbin's and pets from everyone—so today I decided that I wanted to give my friends a present too. So I stood in place and held my ground and shook from the tip of my nose to the end of my cinnabon tail—and guess what I shot luggies all over the place.....what is the problem—!!!! Alison was mortified—she always seems to be wiping my face with "THE JOWL TOWEL" but not this time, no this time I got to throw my mung all over the place—it was hysterical. I then made my rounds and man oh man was it hopping. Sickie children everywhere, it was filled to the gills. I went in to each and every room putting my paws up on the bed and saying hi to my new friends. Sometimes one of the kids would even let me get into bed with them—WAHOO!!! Nothing can be finer than to get into bed with these little munchkins! I went into each and every single one of those rooms determined to put a smile on all of their faces and guess what I did. Nothing could be grander than these moments that I share with those kids.....well actually, if they all got better and there were no more cancers or disorders or reasons for me to be there then that would be the greatest day ever. But until that day comes, I will continue to visit my friends and put smiles back onto their faces! And as long as I have stories to tell my friends, then you all will have stories to read. Be well, Tilly.

Will the nurses ever forgive Tilly for getting slobber all over them? Will all of the children get better and leave Tilly alone in the hospital? Stay tuned for the next story and find out!

Tilly: Marine Biologist

Editor's Note:This story has multiple settings, as we began our day in the hospital we ended it at the beach taking a long walk and reflecting on a busy and emotional day, or at least we thought we were going to be able to have some time to reflect on our day. As with any other day in our lives things never work out to be what we plan, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the not so good. Luckily today was for the great and Tilly and I got to help out another animal on its way back to its natural habitat. I hope you enjoy Tilly's tale with her newest friend.

My Monday started out just like any Monday would. Got up, fell asleep in my favorite chair, ate breakie (or as you kids would say breakfast), then went out to do my morning potty and final grooming before our visit to the hospital. I went to the hospital and, of course, it was sooooo hot—Mom (Alison) and I stopped a hundred times for water breaks, but I was still panting uncontrollably. My visit was a bit more hectic this day than ever before. Besides the pediatric ward being packed to the gills with children it seemed as though every family member was visiting when I came to do my rounds. The rooms were packed with people, furniture, equipment—just to name a few of the obstacles. I was not all too thrilled to fit into the rooms with all of those people so I was a bit on the resistant side and stood in the hall standing my ground. But as with any great pair there is only one leader and you guessed it I am the follower, so I went into those rooms and did the best job this bully could do under those circumstances. Alison (my owner) then made me head up to a whole new unit to meet some other kids who are participating in some experimental procedures to battle Cystic Fibrosis! These two men, I say men because they were definitely in high school, maybe even college, were just delighted to see my bullied, wrinkly face. I even jumped into bed with one of them and he massaged and hugged me for what seemed like forever. I love the hugging and the loving—so he could have held me forever and I would have loved every minute of it. We finally left the new ward and my final visit was to my friend Johnny—who because his blood counts were off, once again, was allowed to postpone his chemo treatments for a few more days. He was thrilled but everyone else was concerned....concerned because he is off of his regime for another week, which throws the entire 4 month course of action out of whack. They told him if he does not have the counts by Wednesday they will be initiating another plan of action. Now I am just a dog, but that does not sound good—not at all.

We all left the hospital together and Alison and I went home where I slept on the front deck in the glorious sun and Alison of course got work accomplished. Now this is the point of where my story really begins, everyone. Alison called for me and said lets go for a walk on the beach. The wind is barely blowing at 2-5 knots and the tide is almost at dead low and it was around 3 pm—perfect walking weather. We started our walk like any other day at the beach, full of vigor. I sniffed high and I sniffed low, I ran and ran and then came running right back to Alison. It was glorious and pure perfection. We were coming up to the last jetty before Sandy Hook National Park (a park that was a government barrack and military base, years ago) and Alison kept saying to me, "What's that? Tilly go get that drift wood. Go get it!" Well as we walked up to the "driftwood" all of a sudden a head popped up from that said "driftwood!" So Alison immediately went from "Go get it!" to "Tilly, leash up!!!" The driftwood was not driftwood at all, it is was a seal! Can you believe that—a real harbor seal. She was on the smaller side, leading us to believe that she was young. Alison thought she had a huge bite wound on her side. It was not exactly a bite wound, well it could have been but it was not exactly what we thought—the flipper had been injured underneath—the part we could not get a look at. Alison and I sat about 4-5 feet away and sat down. Alison was talking to the seal, I did not know she spoke seal...hmmm, and I was wiggling and crying because I wanted to see the seal—but Alison was adamant about me sitting still and quiet—I did what I was told. We sat very close to the seal and it never felt threatened—it would lay back and every once in a while it would lift its head and wink at us. Alison saw that she was hurt and she called the local police, they said they were dispatching a car and he would be coming shortly. We sat with the seal, and then Alison said we should walk up to the road so we could flag down the cop. When we turned to walk up the beach—that seal started to follow us. Alison turned around and told the seal, "You wait here, we are getting help. Stay!" And you know what, that seal listened to her—she stopped! We knew at this point the little fellow was injured on the bad side because she would not use that injured flipper at all! We flagged down the officer and walked back up on the beach to show him the seal. The officer kept telling us to stay back, she will bite you. Alison just giggled and said she knew. I mean for crying out loud we know she is a wild animal, but she was showing NO sign what so ever of being threatened or disrupted. The officer called the Animal Control department and also the Marine Mammal rescue unit to come and evaluate the seal. With this information we decided to walk back to the car, and that is just what we did. Once we got to the car Alison decided to make sure that the Animal Control Officer showed up, so we drove back down to the jetty where the seal was sunbathing. The Animal Control Officer was present and Alison went up to her and told her the whole story about her flipper and showed her the photos she had taken of the seal and its injured "wing!" The Officer told us that because Alison proved the seal was injured and in need of attention the Marine Mammal Rescue Unit would be sure to come and rescue this youngster! With that information Alison gave her information to the officer and said, "if they needed anything else to give her a call." We pulled away with a moment of clarity and serenity, we all need help sometimes—you just have to hope that the right person or dog comes along to not only recognize the need, but can help in a none threatening manner.

What an adventure indeed! We will be contacting the animal control officer to find out if everything was properly taken care of—so we will keep you posted.

 Could this be the last adventure that Tilly finds herself in.......maybe, maybe not, you have to keep reading to find out. Be well my friends and tons of bully butt wiggles for you!

A Very Special Day!

Editor's Note:This next tale is from a few years back, but it still warms my heart reading it again! This story is about a young boy who falls in love with Tilly because she is different just like him!

Well everyone it is me Tilly the Wonder-mutt, here to tell you another fun and fantastic tale about my journeys as a working Therapy Dog. Today I went to school to visit my very special friends, but this was a day unlike the past because the school added a new class into my regime. So instead of just visiting two classrooms I get to visit three—yippee. I started off as I normally do with my butt wiggling and my head bobbing as I pranced down the hallway to my first room. All of my friends were sitting on the carpet waiting patiently for me to arrive. They gave me a lot of nice, soft, open-handed pets this session. No pinching, squeezing, twisting, or poking—this visit was already starting off on the right paw. I went to my second classroom and I got to visit with more of my friends—this is where the magic started to happen. There is one small boy who is normally very frightened of me and is slow at warming up to all my bull-ish charms, but today he was extremely interested in interacting with me—it was great. This young boy has to use a special machine to tell me when he wants to pet me, and guess what he kept pressing the button to tell me that he wanted my attention, and when I would get over to him he would pet me, with some assistance of course, then he would smile from ear to ear. How precious is that little cutie—very I tell you, very precious indeed. I guess my bully nature can win over even those who resist—YIPPEE bully love to the rescue!!!!! But alas the time drew near and I had to say good-bye to my little friends because today I had to visit another classroom—so no dilly-dallying I had to be toot-sweet! I finally got to my final classroom where I was greeted with open arms and smiles so big they could light up a whole city! We went over to the carpet and I got to interact with some very special new friends. Guess what—they taught me some sign language—how cool is that! I mean come on how great of a gig is this that I can get loving and hugging, attention galore, and now I am learning sign language—this should not be legal, it is just too amazing. So my new little friends were having so much fun interacting with me that the time just flew by, and before I knew it, it was time for me to say good-bye. Well this is when it happened, the moment we are all hoping for—when you know you did a great job and you realize that you have gotten through to some of these kids. The young boy who was teaching me sign language crawled into the corner. My Mom (Alison) asked him what was wrong, and he signed that he was sad, Alison asked him why was he so sad, and he signed to us that he was sad because the doggie had to leave—and then he started to cry. Well let me tell you that this little cutie—made my Mom start crying. She said that we were supposed to make the kids happy not sad—she was giggling too when she was teary—so it was not too serious, for all of my worried readers! Well Alison asked the little boy to come over and give me a kiss and a hug and then she took my paw and made the I LOVE YOU sign to the little boy—well let me tell you that that did it—the little boy started laughing and smiling and was brimming with glee. We told him that we would be back next week so that he could play with me then. He was so happy when we left—thank goodness, but I knew I did a good job and I knew I had earned a nap. And that is just what I did—zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Will Tilly ever wake up from her nap? Will she learn anymore sign language? Well tune in to see what happens to me next?

Welcome!

Editor's Note: Well this has been a long time coming and eventually we got here! My name is Alison and I am the proud owner of an English Bulldog named, Van Etten's Waltzing Matilda, but everyone calls her Tilly. She has been bringing joy to everyone who crosses her path since the moment I took her home, but luckily I do not keep her love all to myself. You see, Tilly has a very important job, which is to bring a smile to children's faces who may not feel well or have special needs that only she can meet! She is a mere three years old (and some) and has been working for 2.5 years at Monmouth Medical Center Children's Hospital, The Valerie Center at Monmouth Medical Children's Hospital, and The School for Children.


Here is a story, from Tilly's perspective from when I first realized she could become a certified Therapy Dog. Let me know what you think!

Hello All—My name is Matilda, but all of my friends call me Tilly, and I LOVE CHILDREN—can you tell. My Mom knew before she got me that if I had the right temperament, discipline, and will she was going to train me for this position—and guess what I did. Something happened on one of my very first trips to the beach, it was the first sign that there was something special about me that my mom could not ignore. The story goes like this—We had finished our romp and walk on the beach and we were heading back to the car when all of a sudden i stopped and would not budge. Mom kept telling me to "HEEL-UP" and "LET'S GO"—but I was not having it. I was standing my ground. Mom could not figure out what I was doing, she looked to the North, then to the South but there was no one around—not a dog, or a cat, not even a bird. She was total bewildered.......then out of nowhere a small child came bounding over the sand dunes, then another. They were running and giggling and have a grand time. Well I just could not contain myself—I was pulling and pulling and trying to get my Mom to bring me over the see those children. So finally my Mom approached the children and their parents and asked if they wanted to pet me. But the children were afraid and stood back. Their Mother had told my Mom that when they were very, very young there was an incident with a dog that spooked the entire family, and ever since that day they stayed far away from dogs. Well I heard them talking and I knew that I wanted those children to be my friend so I sat very politely right next to their Mom's feet and waited patiently. Finally the Mother started to pet me and was shocked to hear that I was only a few months old—she thought I was so nice and gentle for such a young dog. Then the children started to come to me—but I got excited and stood up and started to do my famous "Bully butt wiggle and head-bob." Well this scared them and they retreated—so I sat back down and when they came near me again I stood up and turned around. My Mom was shocked—I actually turned my back to the kids so they would not be intimidated by me. Once I had sat back down and I had my back to them they came right up to me and started to pet me. I was in heaven—I love little-hand massages—it is the best. Well my Mom just could not believe what she was seeing—she was thinking, "Did Tilly just turn around so that those kids would not be afraid of her—nah, no way. It had to be a coincidence." Well guess what it was no coincidence—from that day forward if I meet anyone and they recoil or retreat I turn around and sit with my back facing them so that they are more comfortable coming up to pet me! I am not sure if I love the kids more or all of the attention they give me—well whatever the case I love them and I love my job. After I went through numerous training classes my Mother and I went to get tested for the AKC Canine Good Citizen and the Therapy Dogs International test. I got certified at a mere 1 year old—which is the absolute youngest a dog can be to be certified—and I have been working three days a week since April of 2007! This has been not only a rewarding but also enriching experience for me and my Mom—we have made so many buddies throughout the months—it is something that is hard to put into words but, it is truly AMAZING!!! Thanks for listening to my story—big bully Love—Tilly.