Saying goodbye

Two weeks ago today I lifted my sweet old dog into my arms for the last time. I was flying to Portugal in the morning and that stormy Sunday night cudde was to be our last. My parents had decided to have him put down whilst I was away to end his misery and struggle. I understood the reasoning, I really did, but it doesn't make the goodbye and the grief any easier.

I was 11 years old when I first met him. He was so tiny, 7 weeks old and fitted into the palms of my hands. His coat hadn't broken yet and he had beautifully soft puppy fur and he loved to snuffle as close to your cheek as he could get. Growing up with this lovable ball of fun was a great adventure!

He came camping (he loved tents and sleeping bags), he wanted to be involved in every little detail of your life and was always there to welcome you home. I've lived in 5 different countries and he was there to bound up to me when I returned from every one of them.

I can't quite imagine how empty my parents house will feel now. I have to admit, I haven't been back since saying goodbye. Only a week prior to leaving him he had been rushing around my flat looking for food before crashing down on my sofa because he'd used all his energy.

I don't have many "blog worthy" photos of him. He was a Jack Russell and didn't like the camera. I also don't think I even had a digital camera for the first 5 years of his life!

Words don't come easily when trying to write about him and the hole that's now in my heart. So I'll stop and leave you with some photos of this little joy.

 Sleeping under my desk at work in his Christmas jumper

He was never impressed when it snowed

So dog owners, give your little ones an extra cuddle today. Take them on a memorable walk they'll love. 

Sticky mess

No, I'm not describing my current state as I sit in a hot office although I am feeling pretty gross right now. Apparently some offices have showers, mine should have them.

Chewing gum. That's the stuff which caused this sticky mess to make my morning a little different from usual. Some clever person walking down the street thought it would be a brilliant idea to spit chewing gum into our gravelled garden. Rude. Lazy.

Out trots my dog and unfortunately he trod in the sticky gum. What happens in gravelled gardens when a dog had a sticky paw? Yup, the little stones get stuck in his paw between his pads and nails and he comes limping inside. To give him his due, he did bite a lot of the stones out of his paw.

That was when I noticed there were some stuck in there. The gum had dried fast and his paw looked a mess. I did what any thoughtful girl would do, donned some gloves and attempted to get those little buggers out. No luck.

Then came the questions: Does it cost money to go to the vet? Do I need pet insurance? Does he have insurance? Who even is his vet? ASK MUM!

Went to the vets...vet wasn't there...nobody could help...we got sent to another practice in the next town. I was supposed to be at work. Problems.

Parked up, couldn't see the clinic anywhere. Saw a lady with a dog and asked her. She picked him up and said she'd take us there. Erm...give my dog back lady. Then she asked for money to show me where it was. Conned. I gave her the flipping pound, i didn't have time to argue and she held my dog ransom.

Found vets eventually, heard this crazy lady's life story, grabbed my dog back and said goodbye loudly to get my point across. This is why I never go to that town.

Stones were removed with much screaming on behalf of my dog and me in the next room wondering if they didn't have soundproofing for occasions like that.

£35.00 and 30 minutes later I was back at my desk and mentally noting that animals are too expensive for my liking. Tuesday he had a £14.00 groom so that's £49.00 I've spent on him in the past 48 hours. Ridiculous.

Before and after shots of his groom (he wouldn't let them touch his face because he's a stubborn old man).