A sad farewell

last week was a pretty sad affair , Our Choccy lab that has been part of the Family for the last nearly 12 years was taken on her final trip to the Vets.  She had struggled with ill health for the last couple of years .  But still had a healthy appetite and an ever wagging tail .  Sadly though the signs of pain and suffering were becoming clearer and clearer .  In January our Vet had expressed surprise that she had made it to 2019 .  But finally and not without much soul searching the final decision to remove her suffering was made .  A very difficult decision but here two weeks on I know i made the right decision .  So in recognition of a great fun filled life here is a blog entry just for Ruby ...

She was a dog that could eat anything , No actually I will say eat almost anything and if it wasnt fit to eat then it was perfect for rolling in .  Badger Shit is a case in point for those not familier with badger shit imagine super glue mixed with crushed earthworms , rotten fish and green slime which contained a secret ingredient making it detergent proof.  Oh and the smell ......

My early dream of a fishing companion came to nothing her love of water was so intense that despite early efforts the nearest I got was a kick sampling assistant .   Winter or Summer fresh or saltwater she loved it all .  Living as we do near the sea seaweed was a popular snack for her , unfortunately the effect on her stomach was like a mixture of epsom salts and napalm only more smelly .  She soon sussed that eating seaweed would result in us shouting at her so she would grab a lump of kelp and race in the sea and sit amongst the waves , chewing and I am bloody sure she was smiling at us..in the winter the the place in front of the wood burner was hers... We had a blanket to cover her with when we loaded the fire to protect her from embers ,  She sure as hell wouldn't move..

She was for all that a perfect dog ,  friendly always ready for an adventure and always ready for food.   Amongst her talents was the ability to sweep up pedestrians .  This involved running along country footpaths carrying a stick ,  well when i say stick actually small trees would be more appropriate .  I have seen her take out whole families .  She even wiped herself out a couple of times , she never really grasped that you cant get through two trees 4ft apart carrying a six foot branch especially whilst running ...

So I will forget the stomach upsets and vets bills , I will forget the tick removals , I wont forget the earthquakes under the dining table when a food morsel is carelessly dropped and she chased it down . I wont forget when after a bit of wine my animated conversation wielding crackers and stilton about resulted in a perfect timed interception and the morsel was plucked from my hand. Last I dont think I will ever be able to use the toaster again without expecting to see the head peering around the door as the toast pops up...