Goodbye, my Good Boy

A couple of weeks ago it became apparent that Vinnie's cancer had come back. We decided not to put him through a punishing regime of chemotherapy, and just focused on making him as comfortable and happy as possible. Over the last few days he went downhill rapidly. He wasn't eating and was getting weaker; by Wednesday night he was finding it difficult to stand up and was starting to get distressed and agitated, and on Thursday morning we decided enough was enough.

Yesterday we all spent a lot of time with him, and gave him lots of cuddles and hugs, then took him round to the vets late afternoon. As usual they were wonderful; it was very peaceful, with him quite relaxed (the vets has become his home-from-home over the last few months, and he loved the attention he got there!) and all of us around him.

We all miss him terribly, but we know we did the right thing. We're hugely relieved he's now beyond that horrible disease and free from pain and suffering.

We've never known what Vinnie's early life was like - we got him as a rescue about 10 years ago, aged about 3. When he came to us, it was clear he desperately wanted love and affection. I like to think he got that with us, and he returned it with interest; he made our lives immeasurably richer in the time he was with us. He was an "easy" dog, content just to be around us, asking for nothing more than cuddles, a sofa he could slyly slip onto, and a preferential share of the prawn crackers whenever we had Chinese.

We're very grateful to our vets, who brought him through the first crisis with the cancer (plus complications), and gave him - and us - several months he wouldn't otherwise have had. And as he learned to cope  with the missing leg, there was a bonus. He'd never previously got off the lead in the park, being both willfully disobedient and a blisteringly fast runner. Although he was surprisingly quick on three legs, that was only over a short distance and we were now sure we could catch him. As late as Wednesday, although it was becoming a major effort, he was still enjoying his daily outings to the park where he would inevitably hop over to any other dogs - sometimes even chasing them around! -  and make new friends.

While he was a reluctant model, on looking back through my journal I was surprised at quite how many time I've blipped him! I couldn't think of a better tribute to him - and it's meant as a thank you to all of you who've had such kind things to say about him and good wishes for him during his illness - than to assemble a collage of the photos I've posted of him. (The odd one out is a painting we had done years ago by an artist who specialises in caricature-type portraits of greyhounds and related dogs. I've included that as I think it captured his character beautifully, and as it's probably a little small to see in the collage I've also uploaded it as an extra.)

Goodnight, Vince. You're a Good Boy.