Lloyd90 Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 11 years ago I brought home not only my first dog but also my first gundog, a black lab that I bought out of the local paper from Maesteg. I visited and picked the pup and remember even the moment I brought her home. I remember visiting the kennels, picking her out and finally picking her up. I remember the sleepless nights in the crate, waking up in the middle of the night to take her out and putting her back. I still remember taking her on those first ever walks, watching her bundle through the long grass, then going into my mates house and peeing on the carpet and leaving a stain 😂. I remember training her out in the fields, throwing dummies and bumbling along without a clue what I was doing. I remember my first ever permission I got, it had a tiny pond on it that couldn’t have been more than a few m2. An old bloke with two labs used to feed it and we decided to team up (he basically invited me to join him) and shoot it one night after he’d been feeding it. I still vividly remember sitting in a pile of bracken just back from the water, shivering in the cold frosty night, afraid to touch my hands against the barrels of the gun incase they stuck to the metal. I remember two mallard coming past up in the air, swinging through and dropping a hen bird into some bracken. I remember sending my Lab Skye who went straight to it, found it, and the bird started moving about and she stood barking at it and circling it 😂... resulting in me having to pick it myself. I remember the gun I had, a rough and ready Browning Medalist. I later found out the gun was left hander 😂 ... I’ll use that as my excuse that I never hit anything. I remember another time sitting in the bracken and three Teal coming in, low and fast across the water. One second they weren’t there and the next they were almost gone. I remember they skimmed the water and flew about 6 inches left of my head. Lucky it didn’t hit me square in the face. I remember doing a swift 180 and dropping one of the birds as it went away, which was then picked and brought back to me by Skye. I remember some hilarious moments, when she crossed the car park, jumped into the back of someone else’s car and was doing loop de loops around the inside of this posh couples car with their dog playing whilst the couple were just stood nearby oblivious, before she returned without them even noticing 😂. I remember when I bought my second ever dog a springer spaniel named Jess. She howled the day I got her until Skye went over to her and cuddled into her. She immediately stopped and they were best friends from that moment. I remember kennelling the dogs Outside and one night someone broke into my kennel, Skye charged them out of the darkness and chased them off barking and snarling at them. I remember nights coming home from the pub and lying on the sofa with her in my arms. The last 2-3 months she took a real decline very quickly. She became very thin all of a sudden (she was usually a usually lab, would eat anything she could) and her back leg started to go. She started taking the weight off her back right leg. After a while the back elbow joint became swollen and big so we took her into the vets. They said it was a mass and they could do it whatever we wanted. I knew she was 11 years old and would likely not survive the surgery of taking a leg off. We took her home we she was just about managing, however this week my sister messaged me to say her whole leg was swollen and I knew that she would be in pain and struggling. I called my mum and Dad who were reluctant to take her in but I said we can’t drag it out, and today I drove over to Wales and took her in. I sat on the floor with her in my arms as she slowly drifted away. It was very quick. I closed her eyes down for her and kissed her goodbye. The vet said after seeing her today that it was definitely a bone tumour in the back leg and told me there’s nothing they could have done for her. She said that the leg was starting to cause her pain and it was the best thing I could have done for her. It still doesn’t make it any easier though. I’m going to miss the old girl something terrible 😞 RIP my old friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondoggy Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 So sorry for your loss. I lost my black lab 14 months ago and still miss him terribly. They are such a massive part of our lives and I think the fact that they are gun dogs, that we have invested a lot of time and effort in them, only makes that bond so much stronger. Rest assured, you did the kindest thing possible for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 Sad news mate. Have you read the poem 'The Last Battle' ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapid .25 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Really sorry to hear of your loss Lloyd, there are some great memories there of Skye for you to cherish and no doubt many more, atb mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam triple Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Sorry for your loss ,dogs are more than just pets but one of the family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 It does not get any easier and feel your loss, been there too many times BUT remember, folks say you can't buy happiness, but they forgot little puppies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twenty Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 All the best mate, I've been there, and I feel for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.C Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 A touching tribute that brought a tear to my eyes. Sorry for your loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 I really shouldn't read these, it brings it all back to anyone who's had a dog, sounds like you had a great Lab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 No matter how many you have, the end bit never gets any easier Lloyd. If you have a team of dogs you have to go through it about every three years, but you never get used to it. It makes me cry like a baby every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) Aww man I went thru that exact same thing late last year. First dog and gundog. Mum took her up to her place to give her a bath and a trim and I got the dreaded phone call that she found a lump on one of her teats. Took her to the vet who said it was mastitis. Thing we didn't notice was the next one down had a lump/mass too. It started to grow quick but she wasn't in pain and I was hoping to get a last hurrah over the last season there but it wasn't to be. Lump grew and grew and got a scratch and ulcerated and then one Monday morning she just basically stopped being the 11yr old pup she was and could hardly get about so the decision was made to end it. I'm normally the poker faced one at any funeral but I had to get them to give me a few minutes to get myself together....was blubbing like a child. Now I'm left with the village idiot dog, a real affectionate dote of a pet but definitely not a worker! Edited July 16, 2020 by Rob85 Adding text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow243 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 i know how you feel it happened to my lab skye she was 14 1/2 when she passed away i still think of her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jall25 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) Very sad. I feel for you mate. She did her best for you all her life and you did your best for her. You can still remember the good times and at least she's not in pain any more. R.I.P Skye. Edited July 17, 2020 by walshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted July 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 Thank you all 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 Sorry for your loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchap Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 I was welling up reading that Lloyd, been there mate just before Christmas, said goodbye to my best and loyal friend George. Safe Journey Skye. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) I have an American gun dog friend who thinks that eventually she is going to walk across some sort of rainbow bridge and all her old dogs are going to be sitting there waiting for her. She is American, though. I do hope she is not too disappointed. Nice thought, though. Edited July 17, 2020 by London Best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodge911 Posted July 19, 2020 Report Share Posted July 19, 2020 GOD I HATE READING THESE POSTS it's still raw even tho its a year gone may that I lost jess suddenly (even tho the vet gave her a good bill of health 8 weeks earlier at her booster/health check) ... but even tho it's like losing a family member it leaves a lot of good memories.... And the more I read the more my thoughts turn to a new member of the household Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltings Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 don't matter how many dogs you have in your life time they are all characters and break your heart when they pass every time remember the retrieves she had where others failed sometimes only one but the best one ever its hard loosing a shooting buddy RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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