TulsaPets Magazine March 2022

14 TulsaPets • March/April 2022 Lily of the Valley Poodle Is Chief Dog Officer at Toni’s Flowers by Jennie Lloyd “I sn’t Lily our boss?” Toni Garner asks another florist at Toni’s Flowers & Gifts at 3549 South Harvard Avenue. “Oh, yeah, we’re trained,” the florist responds. “I call her the CDO, chief dog officer. If she wants water, to eat, to go out- side, she goes to different people” who work at the shop, and they do what she asks. That is the pampered, glamorous life of Garner’s shop dog, Lily, a 13-year-old Café au lait Poodle. Lily’s eyes are deep pools of lamplight amber, kind and empa- thetic. She has a warm smell. She sounds like a small horse, all slow gait and clacking delicate paws. She walks calmly amid the hubbub of florists at work, phones ringing, customers coming and going, and of course the riot of tulips, gerbera daisies, and roses all over the shop. Lily has long, graceful limbs and soft, cocoa-colored hair. (Poodles have hair, not fur, an important distinction.) She was dark brown the first year and paled to her current color after that. Despite her age, she has not grayed. She wears bright pink bows at her ears. She cuts a stylish, sedate figure around the shop, but if she needs something, she gives an enunciated howl. Garner calls Lily a “fashion dog,” and she loves the look and vibe of the breed. Poodles are known as one of the most intelligent dog breeds, and their eagerness to help makes them great service dogs. It could be construed that Lily is also a bit of a therapy dog for the staff and clients at Toni’s Flowers. The shop, a busy, beautiful, brightly lit space, is known for its excellent, personal-touch service and experienced staff. Garner knows how to create loyal customers and friends all over Tulsa. As I interviewed her for this story, she asked more questions than I asked her. She’s an expert at getting a read on people and understanding what they need. Garner and her sister, Stephanie, opened the shop in their mid-twenties, and they have been there, growing their business, ever since. They are known for their signature fresh, vibrant colors and smart design. “We like a garden style, but we can do everything,” Garner says. “We’re homey, we know so many of our customers. We do every- thing, not just studio-type. We do everyday, birthdays, funerals, weddings.” She adds, “We’re pretty simple. We’re fun.” A Special Christmas Gift It’s no surprise that one of Garner’s many loyal customers gave Lily to her as a Christmas gift 13 years ago. That winter was a difficult one for Garner as she processed her mother’s recent passing. Garner hadn’t owned a dog before Lily. But when she met Lily’s half sister while she did flowers every week at a customer’s house, “I fell in love,” Garner says. “That dog would just always hang with Stephanie and me when we were decorating at Christmas and stuff,” Garner says. She loved the dog so much that her sister ended up “calling to ask them where they got their dog. And they said, ‘Oh, we’ll get her the dog.’ They got me a three-month-old puppy and brought her here to the shop,” Garner says. She named her little, adorable gift Lily of the Valley “because that was my mom’s favorite flower.” For the past 13 years, Lily has come to work with Garner most days. With her elegant demeanor, Lily greets everyone who comes into the shop, located in a cozy midtown shopping center loaded with charming Tulsa favorites such as Felini’s Cookies & Deli and Ed Beshara’s Formal Wear & Fine Clothing. Toni’s Flowers & Gifts is in its 39th year, all in the same neighborhood center. Offering Emotional Support Because many customers come in to celebrate and honor special occasions, Lily helps with emotional support, where her service-dog nature excels. “When we talk to people about a funeral, she’ll come and sit by them, and they’ll pet her. She’ll come sit down at the table,” Garner says. Between greeting guests and requesting pats, Lily rests on one of her four beds throughout the shop, watching everyone bustle around. When other dogs show up, she herds them around. At an emerald green settee near the front door, Lily requests attention. “When certain people come in, she’ll sit there with them and let people pet her,” Garner says. “She knows which customers will want to pet her on that couch.” “I’m not a dog person,” Garner says, although Lily would dis- agree. “But now I look at their eyes, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my god.’ ” PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE Photograph by Cindy Alvarez