What's In a Name?

Tullis, Tullis, Tullis.  How does a dog end up with a name likeTullis?  But that’s exactly what happened to this sweetie-pie.  So, I looked it up.  Tullis is a boy’s name that means “significant”, with Tully being the more familiar form of the name.  Tullis was surrendered by her family at the age of about three.  I don’t know about you, but I can excuse them for dubbing her with a name normally designed for a boy.  This little dog is not only significant, she’s going to be very significant to her forever family.  Here’s Tullis’s story.

Sue and Tullis say good-bye.

My friend, Carol, accompanied me on what has become my usual transporting route from Center Valley to somewhere near where I live.   An easy drive.  Tullis arrived with a very nice lady, Sue, but seemed a bit sad to leave her.

Carol reassures Tullis that it will be OK.

But Tullis also appreciated the attention she received from Carol.  So after a short break to potty and get a drink of water, we made the easy exchange and loaded Tullis in the back seat of my car, where she did the right thing by landing on top of the blanket cover I bought a couple months ago.

Tullis didn’t relax too much on our ride.  She spent most of her time standing in the backseat, checking out the scenery on either side of the car, or putting her head on my shoulder or Carol’s.  But pretty much, this trek was uneventful.

What wasn’t uneventful was meeting the family who was going to foster-to-adopt little Tullis.  We parked to await the arrival of her foster mother, Maura.  We had no idea most of the family would arrive to greet her.  Tullis won the lottery!  Here Tullis is with Maura and her three gregarious kids, who were friendly, well-spoken, outgoing and confident.  And so excited to meet Tullis!  The little girl told me she loved her already and thought she was cute.  They told us they already have two dogs at home, and look forward to welcoming Tullis into the family.   I believe their dogs were both border collies with energetic natures, so they looked forward to Tullis’s calmer manner, which they thought would work well.  I later learned that their border collies were also from Almost Home Dog Rescue, the organization for which I drive.  That just makes this family even more fantastic in my mind.

Tullis seemed a little overwhelmed with all the attention, and was distracted with various parking lot activities and smells, but she trotted easily on the leash with her new family.  Carol and I were both thrilled that Tullis had been so lucky to have landed with this wonderful family.  Oh – and Maura told us they would probably change her name.  They’d been thinking about Daisy.  A fine name, really, and certainly cute.  But who knows – maybe Tullis will stick, especially if they read this blog or look up its meaning.  Or maybe Tully.  But if she ends up being called Daisy, I can picture the little girl picking petals off a daisy, reciting “she loves me, she loves me not,” and ending on “she loves me” for sure.  100% sure.