Our Best Friend Paddy

by Rita Rogers
(United Kingdom)

Words cannot describe how we all feel right now. Paddy was our 11 year old Irish setter. We had him from 7 weeks. Just a small tan thing with huge eyes and floppy ears!! He soon grew into the most handsome man we've ever seen...

We used to show him, but don't think he actually liked all that fussing about. He'd rather dig holes in the garden!!!

Hated the car journey, so was a dribbling mess when we got to the show anyway! All our hard work put back!!

Well, he got sick once, with cancer. That was awful. We really thought we were going to lose him, but the vets were great and he had another 4 years after that.

We had to make that awful, sick, selfish decision on Sunday 19th February 2012.

We had just found out he had a chronic heart problem, and cancer in the back end this time. We were almost going to go to the vets and discuss his treatment—do we treat his heart? how long will it take? will the cancer get worse in the meantime? Big decisions.

Little did we know that Paddy was so ill that we would never get to talk to the vet.

He collapsed, and again, and again. Four times in a half hour, like a fainting collapse.

The vet was great. He explained ALL the options, took blood, discovered Paddy had cataracts! Our poor baby's blood was fine, his brain was fine, his heart, not fine at all.

We cried. Paddy, we hugged you, we said we loved you and how good you were, that the time had come. We lay on the floor beside you and watched you sleep. Beautiful, handsome puppy Paddy. We just can't stop crying.

We hope you're happy and healthy now. Let us know, and wait for us to meet you again. x x x

Sleep tight, Paddy. x x