Last night we lost our beloved Charlie.
He has been living at Aunty Christian’s Home for Retired Furballs since the wedding, and having a high old time of it. There have been gentle walks, sleeping on sofas, long chats with his comrade-in-arms Nino, and treats aplenty. It’s been the perfect spot for an elderly gentleman to spend his time without the constant boisterous attentions of our two Chaos Monsters.
He loved them all dearly and we can never repay her for the love and kindness she showed him over the last few months.
On Thursday afternoon we received a call saying he was having difficulty with his legs and kept collapsing. Something was obviously very wrong. A trip to the vet confirmed this, and whilst she had her suspicions about the cause, the only way to really find out what the problem was would be to submit him to surgery that he probably wouldn’t survive, and if he did would mean a long and painful recovery, with no guarantees that the surgery would actually be successful.
Not something any of us believed to be in his best interests.
So we tried steroids and painkillers, but last night he deteriorated rapidly and we had to make the hard and terrible decision to let him go.
We are heartbroken.
He was the best dog. Kind and generous and loving. He adored children and didn’t bat an eyelid when they played motorbikes with his ears or tickled his toes.
He had a mischievous sense of humour and a boundless zest for life.He was partial to a meat and potato pie and never knowingly missed a curry supper.
He was adored by everyone who ever met him.
And all this despite being abandoned by his previous owners who beat him to within an inch of his life with a claw hammer. But he never held a grudge about this. Mr S rescued him and lovingly nursed him back to full health. Charlie repaid him with a magnificent temperament, a loving heart and total devotion to us all.