Bye Bye Buddy

Last week we said goodbye to our 11 year old black Labrador dog, Buddy. He was not quite right over the weekend and much worse on Monday so we got an emergency veterinary appointment. The vet kept him in overnight for tests but the verdict was not good, with little hope of recovery without risky surgery. They kept him comfortable and gave him painkillers. We brought him home and made the difficult decision to have him put to sleep the next day.

We got Buddy in 2015, not long after I retired. We’d always said we’d get a dog when one of us stopped working . He was 11 months old when he came to us after health issues drove his previous owner to re-home him. A big dog, with a lovely friendly nature, he was quite a handful at first, but as soon as I realised that like most labs he’d do anything for a treat, I worked a lot more on his training and he was very quick to learn.

He soon got the hang of trotting alongside my disability scooter and we’d have lovely walks around where I live. Buddy seemed to know instinctively that I’m not so steady on my feet – if he was excited he could get very bouncy but he never jumped up at me.Later that year I was very ill and hospitalised for several weeks – Buddy visited me! I was in a ground floor room and my bed was wheeled close to the open window where I could reach out and pat Buddy.

When Kevin retired the following year, scoots round the village were replaced by long beach walks . They both loved these. In the summer, busier beaches would be avoided as Buddy, ever the scavenger, would love to raid a picnic. You’d have to watch him anywhere though as he’d also try to each anything dead that washed up (the deader the better!)

As he got older, Buddy got a bit quieter and steadier but retained his enthusiasm, loving people and getting so excited when anyone came to the house. You’d always get such a welcome.

When daughter got her dog, Wren – also a lab, but tiny compared to Buddy…literally half his weight when she was fully grown, we crossed our fingers that they’d get on ok.

They did, as long as she didn’t steal his food! As Wren got older they made a formidable team for extracting food from their humans

Our son always adored Buddy, but after Kevin died he took on most of Buddy’s care and they were inseparable. Buddy slept on his bed and absolutely loved him as he had loved Kevin.

We wanted to make Buddy’s last day as special for him as we could. We sat with him and cuddled him all day and fed him treats. He was well enough for a last lovely walk on the beach. It was a blustery rainy day with the wind blowing spray off the wave crests, a moody sky and frequent rainbows.

Buddy loved it, getting drenched as it started to rain more heavily.

The veterinary teams at both Worrall Bank and Alnwick branches of Robson and Prescott have given Buddy the best of care during all this . It was Buddy’s usual vet who carried out the procedure and she was, so kind and caring with Buddy and to me, son and daughter too as we all wanted to be there for him. It was a very peaceful end, surrounded with love. As we said our goodbyes and left the building I notice that the lovely receptionist had placed a lighted candle on the counter..

Pets enrich our lives so much, they bring us companionship, unconditional love and endless entertainment. They can keep us fit by encouraging us to walk, get us out into nature and support our mental health, even stimulate our immune system. We owe it to them to look after them and we have the privilege of the power to end their suffering if they are ill and won’t recover, painful as it is for us.

This past week all three of us have cried a lot. I’ve also noticed just how much I’ve modified my behaviour over the years he’s been with us. For example, I always load the dishwasher quickly before Buddy would stick his head in and start licking the plates, earning the nickname “Pre-wash” I no longer need to hide chocolate securely in a drawer – despite it’s toxicity to dogs, Buddy had stolen and eaten chocolate, fortunately with no ill effects, several times over the years. He once ate an entire tub of Celebrations chocolates, including the tub and the wrappers, leaving only the plastic lid and the Snickers. I would always keep my bedroom door firmly shut. Much as the children were happy to have the dog on their beds I didn’t allow him on mine., though he’d sneak on there given half the chance, usually if he had muddy paws and I’d just changed the bedding of course!. He’s left us with so many funny memories.

We all miss our big, happy, greedy character of a dog so much. Goodbye Buddy old friend.