Yesterday I lost a faithful companion, brave guardian and loyal friend. 

 

My lovely border collie Glen had to be put to sleep, after developing problems in his spine a few weeks ago.  I was assured he was in no pain and he was given medication to help with the inflammation.

Our vet said that it was a question of quality of life as to when we made the decision but at the time he was happy and had a good appetite, even if he occasionally had trouble with his legs. 

This last week he suddenly started falling a lot and not wanting to eat, so after much heartache and not wanting him to suffer or be in pain, we decided the time had come to say goodbye to a much loved and valued member of our family.

 

When we first got Glen he was about 5 years old, weighed just 30 pounds and you could see every rib and bone sticking out under his skin.  He was riddled with worms because he'd been fed only raw pork bones, he was chained up in a yard with no water or shelter and the locals used to throw him food and help to put him back over the wall when he was dangling by the chain after jumping over the wall to get out. 

I already had one Yorkie, Suki (who was expecting pups) and 7 cats but hubby fell in love with him the same as me, the minute we set eyes on him.  I offered to take him and the woman who owned him couldn't get rid of him fast enough. 

 

He fitted in straight away, although he was a biter then - I cured him of that pretty quick ( Bit him back!) and from then on he adored the whole family! 

He'd been teased and tormented by the kids who he'd lived with before, but he never looked back and was wonderful with babies and small children, puppies and kittens - anything newly born or very young was a magnet to him. 

He allowed any babies (of all kinds)  to crawl all over him, pulling his ears and tail, teething on him - and he was convinced the Yorkie pups were actually his!  He trained them and was always so gentle - but God help anyone who he felt threatened any one of us, he'd bristle up and growl low in his throat and anyone who was on the receiving end of those threats never faced up to him.

 

He was much more than a family pet, and over the years raised thousands of pounds for Search and Rescue teams and animal welfare clinics, along with my blind Yorkie, Mona - he'd pull a cart along and Mona would bark to the kids to say "thank you" every time she heard coins being thrown into the cart, the kids would fuss and cuddle both dogs and they revelled in the attention they got from kids.  They were both awarded medals with their names and "Canine Fund Raiser" engraved on them by Mary Weightman, OBE, the founder of the People's Animal Welfare Service.

 

Just this last year he suddenly started getting very grey around the muzzle and stiff when getting up - we were amazed to realise that he was a lot older than we'd thought and he started developing lumps which the vet said were tumours. We knew that we would be forced to make a decision we simply didn't want to make and I called my youngest daughter and told her it was time.  Sarah came up to be with him and yesterday our vet (who was an old friend of Glen's and who he adored)  said she too thought it was time.  Our brave Glen, by now aged 20 - app: 140 years in dog years - slipped gently and peacefully away, surrounded by our love and leaving many happy memories in our hearts

Sent by Lynne Williamson.