UK Archive

 My Heart Is So Empty !!!

 

It all began on the 8^th May 2000, when our English Cocker Spaniels were born into the world, cute and cuddly as all puppies are, they were all special but for one who was extra special in our lives !!!

 

There were 7 in the litter 5 boys and two girls, they had a beautiful and fulfilling up bringing, we cared for them and loved every one of them until eventually they went to their new homes, however we kept 2 back for ourselves, William and Bunter 2 brothers and William being the only Golden in the whole litter, all the others were black…

 

Sh Ch Bedivearebrwyn Llanberis (also know as Bunter) is who we are focusing on at the moment as this is his story !!!

 

Bunter was such a strong little boy, but accident proned from the start, at only 6 weeks of age my daughter slipped on the floor and dropped him which caused him to have a slightly bent tail but never felt the pain as it was only later we noticed he was limping on his leg, unfortunately as he got older his leg got slightly worse so took him to his vet and they noticed a slight dysplasia of the hip but did say he wasn’t really in much pain but gave him the usual antibiotics/pain killers etc and told us it would eventually get better. we then decided to look at natural remedies for things like this and started him on a course of Ester C which strengthens the bones and joints, well what a remarkable recovery he made on this, we decided to keep him on them for the rest of his life, infact just recently in one of his examinations they could not see any hip dysphasia at all which meant it had completely cured.

 

When he was only 8 months of age he fell down a rockery in our garden of the house we had just purchased and hurt his ribs badly, I managed to carry him inside and sat with him on the bed until we could get him to our vets, I was all alone with him for 5 hours and couldn’t move him until other family members returned home as being a new home we were still waiting for phone lines to be installed…

 

…still in pain he still managed to lick me and wag his little tail, eventually after the vets visit he healed well but at this stage had painkillers and no serious damage.

 

Later on in his life he got an Anal infection which had to be treated for about 6 weeks but after testing for allergies only to find he couldn’t have milk/beef or any dairy products , then all got better, this was when we changed the families diet to Hypo alergenic food, this and other diets for dogs will be mentioned in a completely new story I am working on !!!

 

Then 2 years ago they found a heart murmor but was not serious and not to worry about it at that stage and were monitoring it … apart from that he has been a very healthy boy.

 

　

A beautiful cuddly black bear he had such special talents, and was so different to the rest , he would be on his own from the rest of the litter and always needed that extra security and cuddles, which we willingly gave to him…

 

A cocker spaniel breeder friend of ours who also exhibited her dogs in shows and also responsible for delivering and monitoring the delivery of all 7 puppies came back to see them at 6 weeks of age just to see how they were getting along and spotted potential in one black boy in particular for showing, now my daughter who was the owner of their mother (Nandi) a stunning black bitch and their father Toby also a strapping black stud dog that were bought from reputable separate breeders for her birthday had never in her life exhibited a dog in dog shows before and this was an exciting challenge…she seemed to be a natural especially with him…

 

The bond between them was amazing he seemed to be born to be a star, every show he was entered into he held his head so proud and never once struggled and performed in the ring, he just knew what he was there to do and really enjoyed every minute of it …one judge named him The Black Bomber.

He won his first Best Puppy In Show at 4 months of age and continued throughout his life to succeed…

continued and at the age of 2 years his status became Show Champion, he continued winning at all the major shows throughout the country until he was 6 years of age when we decided to leave and go abroad to the United Kingdom, although registered in the UK as an International Show Champion he never exhibited again, which was unfortunate for him as he loved the shows, but for reasons beyond our means were unable to do so, … We do have 4 others apart from Bunter but as I say this story focuses on Bunter, but just to veer away from Bunter for a moment to explain the other important parts of this post.

 

Whilst we were preparing to sell up and move abroad and start a new life for them as well as ourselves we also had to think about the parting of our beloved dogs, temporarily as there is 6 months quarantine for the UK.

 

We had all there testing , micro chipping done very successfully as we had Bunter and his brothers and sisters to tend to, there were 6 in all.

 

We decided to quarantine them in Europe as this was cheaper than UK so we choose Southern Spain, this was a good choice as the climate suited them being used to the hot climate they came from and faired very well as we ( my daughter and I) stayed there for 8 months with them ,as they didn’t need to be in kennels , they stayed in home quarantine with us.

 

Now we didn’t know that there rabies vaccinations expires after 6 months being in Europe and had expired by 2 months  as it was not explained very well to us and only when we went to the Vets in Spain did we realise that this was the case, which meant they had another 4 months to stay in Europe before UK would allow them in, now the only problem with that was that we had to also leave Spain and get to the UK and organise ourselves there, so it meant another 4 months in Europe, and because the Spanish kennels were not too good, (so we thought at the time) we decided on France, we had been told that the French loved their pets and they would be well looked after, well how far from the truth was all this.

 

We chose a kennels that was recommended to us by agents in the UK who acted on behalf of us as we had no time to view them personally, well this all ended up a nightmare.

 

They flew from Spain to France where they were picked up by the owners and placed in their care, they assured us they were all happy and settled, from there we caught the ferry to Dover (UK) and drove to Cambridgeshire where we had a home secured for us.

 

After 2 months of their 4 month stay we decided to go and visit them, this was so stressful both for them and us, we arrived early in the morning only to find they were locked up in sheds no air, dark and damp and no grass for them either, just gravel stones , they had no bedding just hard plastic tubs to sleep in, they had urinated all over the floor which was incidently just cold concrete , and there they laid ,their sheds smelled disgusting, our poor dogs went from show dogs to dirty filthy mutts, we just couldn’t believe what we saw, unfortunately we couldn’t do anything about this as we had no time to change their kennels and they only had another 8 weeks to go, but during those 8 weeks one of our babies got acid burn all over her stomach and had caused mammory problems and how quickly they turned to tumors ,their local vet came to bathe her sores and bandage her and to keep an eye on it , my daughter was devastated as we all were…

 

　

But unfortunately by the time we got them back to UK she was too far gone, we had to end her life one week later, how this plays on your mind that you let them down, from a healthy dog to that, we were so heartbroken, left with 5 very smelly knotty distressed dogs that had to be virtually shaved all over to get to their knots, this was so horrendous, eventually we got them all back to their healthy selves once more.…

We still see them very worried when we have to go out and leave them, we try not to make our outside times too long and if local visits we always pop back to check on them.

 

This is now 7 years ago and I just hope dogs forget all the bad and think of the happiness they now have, (as Ceasar Milan always states, “ dogs live for the moment” lets hope he is right, I would hate for them to remember all of this that happened to them…

 

Now time has gone on and we are now sitting with 5 healthy dogs at least we thought they were,

Of course we have to remember the two 6 year olds are now 13 years old and the others are 12 years and two of 9 years of age.

Well what a year it has turned out to be, firstly in December 2012 our little Champion Roan cocker spaniel Beatrix had a lump on her left leg, and when diagnosed was not serious but whilst she was under her anesthetic they found a mass inside her which they were concerned about, so, whilst still under they removed it but this was not attached to any organs and was discovered that when she went in previously to be spayed she was allergic to the sutures they used to stitch her internally, this caused a mass, lump to fester inside, this was successfully removed and what a relief but could have been serious if not found, now after learning about canine cancers have totally changed her diet !!

 

 

 

2013 started off fine to start with until February when once again Beatrix was sore in her stomach and wouldn’t walk, she was once again rushed in only to find she had a spinal injury, well this meant a referral to the Spinal Specialist for a second opinion, it was a matter of an hour after a full scan that this was urgent and needed to be operated on, immediately, this was what they called De-Generation of the spine (slipped discs) due to her age (12 years) and the breed which we had no idea was related to Cocker spaniels, everything went successfully well and recovered with lots of home therapy and love…

 

This was all very successful and Beatrix has now fully recovered, only for a month later our Golden boy William who is Bunters age and litter brother got the same problem but much worse than Beatrix, however, we started to feel we have failed in their wellbeing of which we have always been particular with, but only to be told by the surgeon, it is nothing to do with their up bringing and assured us they are extremely healthy dogs in all other ways but this is a common thing in certain older breeds, he said it was just unfortunate and unlucky that it happened in the same family although Beatrix & William are not related to each other.

William (above) went in for surgery and the same procedure for William as Beatrix with home therapy and of course love , he has recovered extremely well…

 

But then a week after Williams operation, Bunter (our prize top dog) came down with a tummy ache and just to point out the spinal problem started with pain from inside, only to think oh no he has also got this now, he was rushed to the vet as his pain was getting worse, well it was the worse day of our lives, when they scanned him only to find a mass inside his stomach,(which was clear on his last check up in June 2012) they could not find his one kidney and thought if they removed the mass it would be fine, we were told that if he only had one kidney living with one was quite normal well they opened him up (this by the way was his first operation he had ever had) at 13 years old ) only to find he was living on one kidney and the other totally gone, the mass was on his liver and his spleen too so it looked like it had spread, they couldn’t take the mass out as it started to bleed, so they had to stitch him back up and give him lots of pain killers, there was nothing they could do.

 

They predicted he had 6 weeks to live, well what a blow to us all, no signs before this and no pain that he ever showed us, he must have been a strong boy, however we did not give up, we looked on the internet for help with canine cancer and found lots of cases of cancer in dogs that was in their final stages totally cured with natural remedies and only by reading up that Broccoli is one of the highest of antioxidants that kills cancer in canines amongst other remedies of which we immediately ordered hoping to see a turn around in him like all the cases we saw .

 

All started well, feeding him these remedies and of course broccoli with his meals and seemed to work, he kept his weight on and by his next visit he had even gained 15 more grams and looked good, this all was well and continued adding this to his meals and he was even playing in the garden and doing so well, this was on the Saturday but then Saturday night he got the pain back again in his stomach well it just got worse by Sunday and we were feeding him with a syringe and liquidising his vegetables and chicken, sardines and liver all (raw) and very good for cancer patients as it’s all to do with their immunity.but his one kidney was so swollen, we knew we could not hang onto him any longer , for 2 nights Saturday and Sunday he was up and we would put him out to the toilet and feed him fresh water whenever he started panting , he must have been so uncomfortable and in pain, all we could do was stroke and love him all through the night.as the pain killers he was on eventually stopped working for him.

 

THE NEXT FINAL AND MOST HEART WRENCHING DECISION HAD TO BE MADE !!!

 

We had no choice and by Monday morning we phoned the vet (who is also a good friend of the family) to come out as we decided to end his life on Monday 22^nd April 2013, we could not bear to see him like this and it just was not him at all, a dog that was always full of life and energy 2 weeks before this to lifeless .

 

..…such a sudden shock to us all, he only lived 2 weeks after diagnosis , he was such a healthy dog and never complained of anything, his shiny coat, bright eyes and happy tail wagging all the time, We could not believe how quickly this all happened from a stomach ache 2 weeks before.

 

My daughter was devastated as he was her soul mate/partner and he looked up to her and followed her everywhere she went, he went out in the car to shows/shops and visits to friends , he was her shadow, we have never had or owned a dog that has had cancer before and is quite an experience to go through, my daughter has never been with a dog to the end, she never wanted to do that and to be honist I never have and didn’t stay in the room, but she was strong as she said “I saw him into the world I must see him out” it has made her stronger !!!

 

She lay with him talking in his ear and saying how much she loves him, how a strong boy he is and always was, how they worked as a team together for all his years, and how they will continue working together in his new life, she told him to keep a place for her and look for her when her time comes to be with him.

She told him his pain is now ceasing and we are making you all better with no pain anymore, and he will be running in that show ring in his new life.

This was such a personal thing for him and for my daughter to have peace of mind , at home in his own special place where he used to lay and sit with us, she laid her hand on his face and when he was gone closed his beautiful eyes.

He was wrapped inside a special Duvet cover that my daughter had as a 3 year old and taken away to be cremated, I could not see him but she insisted I kiss him goodbye for the last time although he was already gone, I did kiss him all over just before they performed his passing but I also kissed him as they were taking him out of the door, my daughter says he went very peacefully and looked at her as he took the last gasp of breath he had inside him.

I still cannot come to terms with this as he was like a child, just looking for love and security, infact we had booked a holiday for the three older ones to take them away for a week but he never got to go !!!

 

He will be back home with us in 2 weeks time for his final journey which we are all looking forward to.!!!

My daughters boss sent her Interflora flowers and all the support she needs from the office, she has now returned to her office but I still feel the pain as I am in the home he once lovingly adored.

The other 4 in the family have been so quiet, I feel they are also feeling it too !!!

 

I would like to thank everyone both family and friends for all the support you have given us over our so sudden tragic loss of a miracle champion boy !!!

 

Rest in peace now baby with no more pain and always remember we love you so much our hearts are aching with the pain of losing you !!!

 

God bless you,

Mummy & Kirston xxxxxx