My dog, Lily, is something else. I started looking for a dog about three and a half years ago, and when I first saw a picture of her online, she looked so cute, like a little tree fairy. I immediately got on a plane to Houston to meet her. Sitting there on the floor in the midst of a litter of Chinese crested puppies, I knew she was the one. I went through every possible name you could imagine, and then I came up with Lily because it made me think of an old chanteuse or a sophisticated actress. Her personality actually reminds me a lot of Marilyn Monroe’s. Lily has super-beautiful waist-length white hair and long pink eyelashes. She’s dramatic too; she loves everybody — but only to a point. When she’s not in good humor, she’ll go curl up somewhere where nobody can find her. I think she’s taken on some of my idiosyncrasies because I’m the exact same way. We like to go off by ourselves, and now we do it together.

Courtesy of Steve Nicks

Lily has been on the road with me for most of her life, and she loves it because she gets so much attention. On the day of a show, she stays with me most of the time. She especially loves being there for my vocal warm-up. I even made up a blues song that I sing to her when it’s time for her to eat. So far she hasn’t gone onstage with me, but I’ll bring her out one day. She already knows all of my rock-star friends — Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, Chris Isaak. Chris draws hysterical pictures of her. She brings so much joy to the entire Fleetwood Mac team, from the band to the people who do the rigging to the caterers. They all come backstage to see Lily because when there’s no dog, there’s no joy.

After each show we get on a plane to go to the next city. We always fly private, and she prefers a G4 jet because it’s easier for her to run up and down the aisle. When we stay in nice hotels, she knows the one rule is she can’t pee on the Persian carpets or we’ll be banished. Sometimes I have to remind her of that. When we do get a break from touring, we go home to our condo in California. I always say if you’re not married and you don’t have kids or live in a commune with other people, then you’d better have a dog. I never feel lonely because she follows me around and keeps me laughing with all the goofy things she does. With Lily there, I always feel good.

Nicks is a singer-songwriter best known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac.

For more stories like this, pick up the January issue of InStyle, available on newsstands, on Amazon, and for digital download Dec. 20.

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