My soul dog Dillon passed away on Friday 19 June 2009.
He came to me from Dasha Dog Rescue in March 2004 and it was love at first sight for both of us. He was so timid and scared, he just needed to be loved and then loved some more.
On his first night here, he insisted on sleeping on my bed. Sleeping on mummy's bed was something that previously had only been allowed to poorly doggies, but Dillon changed the rules. No way was he sleeping in that doggy bed on the floor, he needed to snuggle up to his new mummy
When he arrived, he had a very badly injured and infected left eye. The vet recommended its removal asap and brave Dillon underwent his operation just before Easter. Everyone at the vet's loved him, they said that they had never met such a tolerant dog. Apparently, enucleation (removal of an eye) is a particularly bad operation but Dillon allowed them to do everything they had to do to him
He underwent surgery a few more times for fatty lumps and was always very very good at the vets.
6 weeks ago, he was diagnosed with heart failure and had been on a lot of medication since then. He always took his tablets like a good boy, they had to be taken an hour before food.
He kept having funny turns which the vet said weren't heart attacks, they were more like fainting spells and he would lose the use of his back legs & then lose consciousness for a while. Over the last couple of weeks, his funny turns had become more frequent and each one was worse than the last. He always came to find me if he felt a funny turn coming on because he liked me to hold him for however long it lasted.
On Friday morning he refused his medication and I had to force them down him by holding his mouth shut until he swallowed.
He wasn't himself at all.
I tried taking him for a walk but he didn't want to go.
Later in the morning, I was hoovering upstairs & he came upstairs & jumped on my bed. There was nothing unusual in that, he always liked to be near me. When I'd finished, I called him to go downstairs & I realised he was having a funny turn. I got him downstairs, then I sat & held him for an hour or so. He kept wanting to get down but his legs wouldn't hold him & he was going round in circles. I had a feeling that his vision had gone as well. He wasn't my Dillon any more, he'd changed somehow
I took him to the vets. I had to carry him to the car, I didn't even strap him in, he just lay there on the passenger seat, not moving at all.
The vet said there was no more they could do for him, he'd had a kind of stroke which had taken his sight and he really wasn't aware of anything that was going on. It was kinder to him to let him go.
I loved him so very much, he was my soul dog
, I miss him terribly
Of all the dogs that are so sweet,
The spaniel is the most complete
Of all the spaniels dearest far
The little loving Cockers are
They never sulk, they never tire,
They love the field, they love the fire
They never criticise their friends
Their every joy all joy transcends
The Aberdeen is quaint and sly
A harvest of the anxious eye
The Bedlington is blue and true
The Airedale fights til death for you
The Bobtail is a jolly chap
The Pekinese commands your lap
The Dachshund (wth Queen Anne her legs)
Your sympathy enchains or begs
Yet why compare? All dogs on earth
Possess some special charm and worth
But Cocker Spaniels, every way
They are the kennel's angels,
they [/quote]
