Harley !
23rd May 2007
Dear Friends,
Doug and I wanted you to know that we had to make the difficult decision to euthanise Harley yesterday evening. He had been suffering with severe arthritis for some time on his hind legs and hips, but then developed bone splints on his front two legs also. This was compounded by his later fracturing of a toe on his front leg from which he could not seem to recover, in spite of the wonderful care he received from Dr. Richard and Dr. Sonja, and also Dr. Soon Hock had tried acupuncture to see if we could relieve his pain.
He had reached the stage where he was in a huge amount of discomfort and struggled to walk to the garden over the last few weeks. Doug and I had moved into the downstairs bedroom so that he would not have to walk up the stairs. It was an incredibly difficult decision, as you will all know how much we adored 'our big lump'.
Harley came to us some years ago in Canada, when we had finally decided that the time was right to get a puppy. I decided to research the local pet rescue groups in British Columbia, and instead of a puppy, fell in love with the picture of Harley on the Big Heart Rescue site. He was no puppy - at least 4 years old and weighing in at 70 kilos and apparently a mix between a rottweiler and a bloodhound. The lovely ladies of the group brought him out to us and he has been our constant companion ever since. His gentleness and steadiness of character and his total lack of aggression charmed everyone who met him.
Harley's Highlights:
Riding in trucks.
Human food - any human food!
Playing with his best canine buddies - Churchill in Canada, and Babu in
Singapore.
Finally getting his own sofa, which he did not have to share with guests.
Sneaking food from guests at parties - and both the guests and him thinking we
didn't know: we always knew!
Snoring so loud we couldn't hear the television.
Staying in 'The Cabin' with the Longs/Hoas crew and Churchill.
Chasing squirrels along the ground and never understanding where they
disappeared to when they ran up trees.
Rolling on his back for a belly rub.
Going out for more of an extended sniff than a walk.
We shall miss our big boy so much. Thanks to all of you for being part of his extended family.
Love Una and Douglas
Contact Big Heart Rescue for more information.
