The Adventures of Tilly the Wonder-mutt: Getting the Red Carpet Treatment

Tilly hammin' it up, despite the pouring rain, in Rockefeller Center!

Editor's Note: Happy Holidays!! This is a story from Christmas Weekend 2009. Andy, Tilly, and myself had the pleasure of spending the weekend at The Pierre in New York City this year and it was a holiday we will never forget and fondly remember! Fun was had by everyone in my family as well as the entire staff of The Pierre. It seems that having Tilly as their guest was as big a thrill for them as it was for us to be there! This weekend was filled with long walks, exciting sights, rain galore, delicious meals, and a nice respite from our normal day to day routine. I hope you enjoy reading Tilly's view of her weekend in New York City! Be well and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays everyone! I have something very exciting to tell you about my latest adventure. I was recently treated like royalty at a very hoity-toity hotel in New York City! Yep you heard right, this bullie was hanging with the elite in New York City’s most exclusive hotel and getting the Red-Carpet treatment. I have told you this before but it still amazes me every time it happens. When I got into the car this morning I settled into my comfy backseat bed and fell asleep, and when I woke up I was somewhere totally new and exciting. As my door was opened by a man in uniform, wearing a big hat and white gloves, I was overwhelmed by what was around me. The sights, sounds, and especially the smells...ooohhh those smells....made this bullie wiggle from head to my little nub of a tail! I was so excited I could not contain myself. Where are we? Who are all of these people greeting me with pets, kisses, and squeezes? Why do we have so many bags? Now I will tell you that I have been to New York City before. Alison and Andy have taken me to Central Park and the area surrounding the park for a day trip, but never have I come to the East Side of Central Park and gotten to walk into one of the beautiful buildings that don the sidewalks. As we walked toward the front entrance of the hotel there was a door like nothing I had ever come up against. I have to admit that I was a bit tentative about walking into this door because I was not sure how I would get out! Alison coaxed me into the area that was shaped like a slice of pie, with glass running from the floor to the ceiling. I stood there trying to back out but I was trapped. I was a bit nervous but Alison reassured me and slowly moved these walls in a circular motion and then all of a sudden I was on the other side and inside the hotel. Oh, what fun! Can we do that again? I walked back into the glass pie and tried to get Alison to go around in circles with me, but she said we could do it again later...humpf...but I wanna do it again! I didn’t have a chance sulk for long because as soon as we stepped into the marbled-floor foyer of this magnificent building all of the staff came over to greet me. They went right by Alison and Andy and came over and got on the floor with me and said they had been waiting for me all day! Can you imagine that?! They had been waiting for me, and they were ecstatic that I had finally arrived. I started to wiggle again. I could not control myself. I was so happy. My head was bobbing and my butt was going a mile a second back and forth, to and fro! Then a man came out and escorted us to our room. He took us into an elevator and there was a man inside who was called the elevator operator. He was dressed in a very nice uniform too. This man was so excited to see me too. I walked right into the elevator and sat down. Alison gave me a treat and I waited for the doors to open up again, and they finally did! We were very high up. I know this because me little ears went POP! In the elevator when were riding up, up, and up. As we stepped out of the elevator our room was down this very long hallway. There were only a few doors though...hmmm that is strange, I thought! When the man opened our door a beautiful room was unveiled. I ran an inside and sniffed all around. There was one room and then another, and another, and when that man opened a door, another room appeared, and then there was another room too. I could not control myself there was so much for me to explore, and so many smells for me to smell. I was having so much fun. Then I ran into the bedroom and there it was, I could not believe it. They really were waiting for me! I ran back to get Alison and she followed me into the bedroom. She called out to Andy, “You have got to come see this, you will never believe it!” When he came in we all stood there in awe. There was a bed made up for me with a set of my own bowls! Can you believe that. They made a space just for me! I jumped into the bed and started sniffing the bowls. I thought maybe they left me a little treat and it smelled like they had, but I think Alison took it away before I could nibble on it. She said, “No, no! You can not have that! You have too many allergies and we do not want to have a reaction the minute we get here!” I looked up at her with my two big brown, and blue eyes and gave her that look. You know the one, the look that no human can resist. Well it worked and she gave me a treat for being so good. It did not taste like the one that was in the bowl, but it was delicious anyway! After we got settled into the room we went back out onto the elevator, back into the marble-clad lobby and went for a walk in the park. I now, can you believe it? Central Park was just steps away! Alison, Andy, and I walked and walked, and walked until my little paws could not walk any further. We headed down the famous shopping mecca, Fifth Avenue, and what a sight to see. There had to be a billion people walking the streets. There were vendors everywhere with everything you could image. From scarves to hot dogs. OOOooooh, the hot dogs, now that is where I want to be! Every entrance to every store was so inviting. Lights flashing and holiday music ringing out into the streets. We went into Barney’s and looked about. Yep, they even let this little Bully into Barney’s! Everyone gushed over me there too. I was starting to turn pink and not because it was cold outside, this little bully was getting bashful from all of the attention that was being lavished over me! After Barney’s we went to see the famous Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza. This tree was colossal! I do not think I have ever seen a tree so tall. There were so many lights. It was truly breath-taking. All of the policemen/women and security were giving me pets. I guess they do not get a lot of Bulldogs in this part of the city. We walked and then walked some more until we finally reached the entrance to our hotel again. I got more love from everyone who worked there. We rode up the elevator and all of the other guests were amazed at how well behaved I was. They even gushed over me and gave me some lovin’. When we finally reached our room, Alison made me get rinsed off. She said something about me being filled with grime. I do not know what grime is but I know it took a long time for her to get it off of me. When she was all done rinsing me off and toweling me dry I found a comfy spot on the couch and I fell asleep. I was good and tired from my adventure. Each day after until the day we left was filled with more exciting things to see and smells to sniff. I met more people in three days then I have in all of the years that I have been alive on this Earth. By the time the weekend was over and we had checked out of the hotel and packed the car back up I was one weary bullie! I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow in the car and I never woke up until we pulled into the garage of our house. I have to say that I may have slept for a few more days after we got home, because I was so wiped out from all of the wonderful things we did, but it was worth every step. This was one of my most favorite weekends ever and I can’t wait to do it again. Watch out New York, because this bully has got the Big Apple Fever!