Goodbye Lou

Lou

We had been treating Lou our Rottie cross for what were essentially bedsores on her elbows and wrists for the last three weeks. Sadly during that time she lost mobility in her back legs and we made the very painful decision to have her put to sleep yesterday.

I have never experienced having to make that decision before and Nanny Southwellski and I  talked long and hard and with many many tears before deciding that it was unfair for us to keep her living as she was for any longer.

It was for us that we didn't take the decision sooner and selfishly we had kept going with washing her wounds, packing them with honey and dressing them daily.  It must have been awful for her as they were down to the bone but being the sort of dog she was she didn't complain at all, just gave a gentle wag of her tail when she saw me coming with the bowl of iodine and the dressings.

The final moments were very peaceful, Jeremy the vet came to the house and climbed under the desk so as not to move her and gently trimmed the fur on her back leg before injecting her.  She died peacefully without as much as a whimper with her head in Nanny Southwellski's lap.

In all honesty, I think had we seen Jeremy the first time we took her to the vets three weeks ago we would have made the decision then and she wouldn't have had to go through any of the unnecessary treatment.  But, we saw another vet who said she would recover eventually and that despite her being 18 she had a long time left.

I suppose the moral of this tale is get a second opinion and take a step back and look at what is happening to your dog (or cat, horse, pig, hamster or whatever it is you have) and ask, what about them?

Lou was a rescue dog who was extremely nervous and would bolt upstairs at any sudden sound. If you went to grab her collar she would squeal like a stuck pig even if you hadn't touched her.

Her nervousness subsided as she became deaf after which she put on weight and never reacted to anything.

She was incredibly gentle and never so much as bared her teeth at anyone with the exception of 3 travellers who were intending to come onto a building site we were running.

Lou came to work with us and sat in the back of the van during the day.  I heard some shouting and a deep barking and on going to investigate I found Lou, hackles up standing her ground and refusing to let the unwanted visitors in.

That was a one off, but from then on I always believed that if her loyalty to us were to be tested she would not let us down.

She was a regular visitor to our training centres and had a natural affinity to our students who had learning disabilities and one young man in particular, Jonathan, had a great affection for her and would always take for walks and make sure she had water and toilet breaks.

He loved the responsibility and I have no doubt that Lou was responsible for starting the process that made him the confident young man he was when he left.

Our home is an emptier and sadder place without her but we are glad she is no longer suffering.

We love and miss you Lou. x