- Joined
- Mar 30, 2011
- Messages
- 36,070
- Reaction score
- 15,959
- Location
- Glanaman,Carmarthenshire,Wales
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- Too many - but not nearly enough
Today we said goodbye to one of our little rescue daxies, George – the most undemanding, faithful quiet but protective dog you could ever meet, and I think he deserves this little eulogy.
George and his lifelong kennel mate Libby came to us in the autumn of 2016, they were elderly even then, inseparable and looked to be nearing the last pasture – nobody wanted them so we took them in out of pity thinking they would only last a few months but they soon blossomed and settled in and both became unique little characters.
We were told that George was a ‘lady’s dog’ and paid little attention to men and Libby was the opposite but, on their first full day with us, I was at my desk in the study sorting my day’s work, when in he strolled, pushed all the paperwork I had stacked on the floor by my desk to one side and made his nest between me and the radiator and became my worktime companion ever since.
No-one was allowed near his new ‘pack’ as we quickly found when one of us took him for a walk until he was happy we were comfortable with them and he quickly settled in to our routine.
He was a great lover of chocolate with the search skills that any customs officer would be proud of, even finding chocolate SWMBO didn’t realise we had, he once ate a kilo bar but it had no adverse effects on him (apart from his farts being a bit fruitier than usual for a day)
He became terribly attached to me, moping by the back door when I had to go out for the day and lie ins were a thing of the past as he had decided that although I was allowed upstairs at night – any time after 8 am was not allowed and would cry until I came downstairs. It would take a few days for him to settle when I popped over to Africa on a project., the only pampering he liked was to sit next to me on the sofa (no fussing please) for half an hour after dinner, it was only the last week or so that he was happy to spend the evening on SWMBO’s lap, wrapped in a blanket watching TV
He was not a one for being pampered, cuddled or cosseted, whenever anyone picked him up to make a fuss of him, he’d give it ten seconds then look at them as if to say ‘had enough now?’ and expect to be placed back on the floor so he could go on his way
We still don’t know exactly how old he was, definitely more than thirteen (Libby is a few years younger) maybe more than fifteen and we knew that now every day was a bonus as his heart had a serious murmur and he had started losing a wee bit of weight, then a fortnight ago he went from bright and happy to not eating and very poorly in a couple of hours, a trip to the vet showed his liver functions were haywire and once he was stabilized an ultrasound scan showed advanced liver cancer. He wasn’t in pain, he was happy as could be so he came home for a little while to low fat high protein luxury meals (because his gall bladder was shot) mostly fresh roast chicken and minced steak but this Monday we could see the time was near, as a good friend said, it’s better to do the deed a bit too early than a bit too late, he had a ‘good’ day yesterday and the sun shone brightly on Brynmair which meant he could enjoy his last mooch around the front garden with his two pals Twts and Libby.
It was obvious today he was ready to go, he was flagging as we waited at the vets just cuddled up in SWMBO’s lap and, true to form he slipped away in our arms, no fuss, no drama.
Never has a little dog got so far under my skin as this little gentleman and he leaves a big gap in my heart as well as in front of the radiator in the study.
Why do we keep putting ourselves through this heartache? Looking back at some of the wonderful memories they leave tells me why.
Thanks George for the brief moment of happiness you gave us.
George and his lifelong kennel mate Libby came to us in the autumn of 2016, they were elderly even then, inseparable and looked to be nearing the last pasture – nobody wanted them so we took them in out of pity thinking they would only last a few months but they soon blossomed and settled in and both became unique little characters.
We were told that George was a ‘lady’s dog’ and paid little attention to men and Libby was the opposite but, on their first full day with us, I was at my desk in the study sorting my day’s work, when in he strolled, pushed all the paperwork I had stacked on the floor by my desk to one side and made his nest between me and the radiator and became my worktime companion ever since.
No-one was allowed near his new ‘pack’ as we quickly found when one of us took him for a walk until he was happy we were comfortable with them and he quickly settled in to our routine.
He was a great lover of chocolate with the search skills that any customs officer would be proud of, even finding chocolate SWMBO didn’t realise we had, he once ate a kilo bar but it had no adverse effects on him (apart from his farts being a bit fruitier than usual for a day)
He became terribly attached to me, moping by the back door when I had to go out for the day and lie ins were a thing of the past as he had decided that although I was allowed upstairs at night – any time after 8 am was not allowed and would cry until I came downstairs. It would take a few days for him to settle when I popped over to Africa on a project., the only pampering he liked was to sit next to me on the sofa (no fussing please) for half an hour after dinner, it was only the last week or so that he was happy to spend the evening on SWMBO’s lap, wrapped in a blanket watching TV
He was not a one for being pampered, cuddled or cosseted, whenever anyone picked him up to make a fuss of him, he’d give it ten seconds then look at them as if to say ‘had enough now?’ and expect to be placed back on the floor so he could go on his way
We still don’t know exactly how old he was, definitely more than thirteen (Libby is a few years younger) maybe more than fifteen and we knew that now every day was a bonus as his heart had a serious murmur and he had started losing a wee bit of weight, then a fortnight ago he went from bright and happy to not eating and very poorly in a couple of hours, a trip to the vet showed his liver functions were haywire and once he was stabilized an ultrasound scan showed advanced liver cancer. He wasn’t in pain, he was happy as could be so he came home for a little while to low fat high protein luxury meals (because his gall bladder was shot) mostly fresh roast chicken and minced steak but this Monday we could see the time was near, as a good friend said, it’s better to do the deed a bit too early than a bit too late, he had a ‘good’ day yesterday and the sun shone brightly on Brynmair which meant he could enjoy his last mooch around the front garden with his two pals Twts and Libby.
It was obvious today he was ready to go, he was flagging as we waited at the vets just cuddled up in SWMBO’s lap and, true to form he slipped away in our arms, no fuss, no drama.
Never has a little dog got so far under my skin as this little gentleman and he leaves a big gap in my heart as well as in front of the radiator in the study.
Why do we keep putting ourselves through this heartache? Looking back at some of the wonderful memories they leave tells me why.
Thanks George for the brief moment of happiness you gave us.
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