This is Tilly's page!

Welcome to Tilly's page

Champion Covington Scintillating Star

It is with profound grief that I convey my depressing news, that I force my fingers to form the words to say that Tilly - my silly Tilly - is gone. She was 12½ years old, so she wasn't bouncing and running, but I'd been thinking that she wasn't doing too badly for a quiet and gentle old lady. Yesterday (Wednesday evening), her health took a rapid downhill turn, and she died this afternoon.

This morning I took her to Dr. Gary Wood (he is our heart doctor in the Portland/metro area, a friend to Cavaliers and breeders), and she was put on oxygen and meds right away, but only improved marginally by early afternoon. Dr. Wood found a large growth/lump/tumor *in* her heart (left ventricle, if I remember correctly), which seemed to bob and float in the chamber, but also looked as if it might have been partially blocking a valve. So while the signs pointed to congestive heart failure, that large growth was most certainly to blame. No matter how much I flog myself for not having done something sooner, noticed something sooner, gotten her on meds sooner, or any number of 20/20 hind-sights, or done the coulda-woulda-shoulda game, there wasn't anything we could have done to save her. Even had we known about the growth, I don't know that I would've subjected a 12½ year old dog to open heart surgery. I had hoped that Tilly would be well enough to come home with me by this evening; I certainly was not prepared to lose a piece of my own heart when she went gently into that good night... There will be more tears, no doubt, but there will be a far greater number of wonderful memories, and her legacy lives on with many children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, but for our family, Tilly will always be with us through her son JoJo, her granddaughter Birdie, and her great-grandson Peyto.

Thank you, Heidi & Greg Mohn, Covington Cavaliers, for allowing me to choose that particular special baby girl, and, in doing so, for providing that glowing light in my life.

Rest in peace my sweet lady - the benevolent queen of the DarkStar household - tis a far better world because of your luminescence.

"Tilly" - Ch. Covington Scintillating Star
Oct 2, 1999 - Apr 5, 2012

Tilly finished her championship mostly owner-handled, save for the finishing major at the Willamette Toy Dog Fanciers Group Show. With many thanks to friend and handler Beth Hilborn (photos middle and right) for taking Tilly for that weekend, as I wasn't sure when Jasmine would have her puppies, and didn't want Tilly to miss the show! Beth did a wonderful job presenting the Silly Miss Tilly!

Now are these darling babies, or what? That's Tilly on the far right, with her two sisters, and the three brothers are on the left.The photo on the right is a few weeks later. She must've been concentrating on the cheese that had been in front of her, because that tail is nowhere to be seen! (Another strange "crop" job to just the puppy!)

Tilly had been a model in her younger years - errr younger months, that is! She helped to show off the fine spirit items available from the West Linn High School Booster Club!!

She alternated between being a royal spaniel - with grace and dignity -
and being an awfully silly Tilly! Diving into the Christmas stocking was a lot of fun!

Scintillate, scintillate, globule vivific.
Fain, would i ponder thy nature specific.
Loftily poised in the ether capacious,
Strongly resembling a gem carbonaceous.

* (the translation!) *

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How i wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

Eyes CERF clear