France in Focus

Bob our rescue mutt was gently pts'd this evening by Francois, our vet.
Bob was found abandoned & taken to the SPA where we found him 26 months ago.
Having looked after our last 'rescue' for 14 years it was our intention, in our dotage, to adopt an 'old' dog hence Bob of 10-12 years came to live with us.
it wasn't long after we adopted him that he was very ill with a liver tumour diagnosed & not expected to see the week out. We dug his grave & there it's been for 2 years whilst Bob lived a great & active life not knowing how ill he was.
Recently he's been limping a lot & xrays showed an ancient hip fracture which our vet thought was never treated & was now so bad the leg would require amputation on a younger dog but too risky on him.
Morphine tablets were prescribed for the pain , to be taken as & when, but he's been off his food & refusing any way of taking medication for afew days now. The vet has said there is nothing else they can do to help.
This morning he was very lethargic & limping so bad that a decision had to be made & he's now at peace lying under a tree with our other rescues.
We knew that taking on an old rescue would probably end this way so don't feel too bad at the mo. I'll miss the gentle old bloke a lot but am content he's had a great last couple of years.
We'll deffo take on another old dog when the time is right.
Sleep well old fellow.

Good for you LAF for taking on a lost soul and giving a few years of comfort and enjoyment.
The decision of when enough is enough is never easy and I am sure you have saved Bob from unnecessary distress



RIP Bob

You will have given him the best possible last couple of years of his life. Even when you know that the end is inevitable it’s still a painful time. I’m sure Bob knew how lucky he was.

My sympathies, LAF, I know how devastating it is when they go. But what a kindness taking on an old fella, he was fortunate to spend his last years with you.

RIP Bob ....

Agree with everyone. It is never an easy decision to make. We have considered taking in an elderly dog, but we are both still hearbroken from the loss of our Collie (after 14 years in the family).

I'm sure Bob enjoyed his last two years with you. I'm so sorry for your loss.

What a lucky dog to have found a home with you. He's young again now, romping in the clouds.

I'm sorry to hear about Bob but my sadness is greatly tempered by the life you gave him where he was clearly very much loved. The alternative to the new start with you was to remain in a rescue centre with little company or security other than what the staff could manage. There's just no comparison and you did a very good thing.

Agree completely with Veem.

When the time comes it's us that need to be brave not them who depend on us entirely to do the right thing for them.

Well done all round LAF.

Many thanks for the kind words folks.
It's strange not being woken up by the bedroom door being bludgeoned open by Bob arriving to tell us he's in need of his early morning toilets.
We were in bits for quite a while when our last rescue died after 14 years with us but as we knew Bob was always on borrowed time it somehow doesn't feel the same.
We took him on knowing full well that the 'day would come' sooner rather than later & that his time with us was never going to be a long term situation.
It didn't make the decision any easier but somehow felt that this was the event we'd been planning for the last two years so everything went calmly & quietly as he passed on.
He had some good last years with us which is what we alway intended so although he's left a hole in our lives we're both OK with the situation.

LAF so sad I had exactly the same last month, and like you in the past the loss of a pet has really cut us up but I agree if it is expected, like yours and ours, then it is not so bad, albeit never good. I too miss her little body laying on the settee, sometimes flat on her back with her legs up in the air like some demented kangaroo. Unfortunately we had a bad time with her at the end, could be any time of the night she woke us up and it was beginning to tell on us as well, but then I would swap all that to have her back able to walk and run around as she used to before her life changing fall