Day 17: Celebrating my best friend, Brandon.

[Stephanie]

Hiya everyone,

As you’ve probably realised by now, I’m a big animal lover with a special connection with dogs. Today I wanted to celebrate the life of my beautiful dog who sadly passed away this summer and the incredible age of 18 (and a bit!)

We rescued him from the shelter when I was in my teens. The pun was not lost on us that we brought him home from the Dogs Trust in Kenilworth! He was only 6 months old, all legs and very happy to see everyone and everything - especially food. He was dubbed Hobo which we promptly changed to Brandon as he was homeless, no more!

Don’t bite that wasp Brandon! Uh oh...

We were never too sure what his breed was but by his appearance and behaviour we believe he is part hound, part collie and part labrador. Anyone that has owned any or all of those breeds know just what that means… obsessed with food, loves to roll in some obscene discoveries and you can never pet and cuddle them enough. This is why my dad always called him “Teddy bear.”

Coming from a family with 5 children, Brandon did have to put up with some less than flattering games but did it with a gentle grace. He never so much as showed a tooth to anyone, and only growled if you looked like your were about to swipe something he was planning on eating!

After my parents separated, Brandon lived with my father alone - a proper man's best friend! Until he was 15, the two were inseparable. As the house my dad moved to wouldn’t allow pets and I had just bought my first home, we happily welcome the old man to live with us! The cat didn’t mind him at all, and he had never really been too bothered by other animals (except foxes which he loved to chase.)

Within one week he had discovered the local kids kicking a ball about - it may look like he has destroyed this one but the kids actually had this old thing which they let him have. His mouth is short so he always let his brother, Freddie, pop balls with his sharp German Shepherd teeth so that he could carry the deflated prize.

They were a complete odd couple but were best mates. We would play with the pair of them for hours. Freddie was a rescue from the same center and we got him 1 year after Brandon. We didn’t expect him to get as large as he did - was like walking a small horse!

As with all old dogs, he started to slow down and had trouble with his hips. He learnt to love his physio and hydrotherapy sessions as they always resulted in lovely treats. I won’t go into detail on how he was at the end as it is too painful.

I just wanted to share something important and beautiful to me. Especially to celebrate my lovely pup in this Month of Celebration! 

As always, I would love to hear about any animals that have been/are important in your life!

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Sarah977]

@Clara116  She's far from little- she's about 75 pounds!  Re the arthritis- I've started mixing a glucosamine/condroitin tablet in with her food lately to see if it helps. I've also read that CBD oil helps a lot with arthritis, as well as a host of other things. 

[Stephanie]

Gorgeous and silly @Sarah977  - all dogs are!

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Truffle pulling a face as the piano was tuned.

Truffle is one of these 9 years ago

Dear Stephanie, Brandon was such a handsome gent. Such a lovely lot of Doggos.

[Helen427]

hey @Stephanie  have you had any offers from anyone for another dog yet?
Or is it too soon?

I'm sure there will be one turn up on your doorstep sooner or later & with Christmas just around the corner life is full of surprises...

Take care

[Stephanie]

It's usually January @Helen427 isn't it. All the silly people getting pups as Christmas presents, realising they can't/won't/ are too lazy to cope with them and take them to a shelter.

[Helen427]

@Stephanieit happens all to frequently.

We had a huge problem in New Zealand in the early 2000's with one particular nationality dumping pets off to SPCA or leaving them behind unattended in rented apartments in the city  which resulted in the average tenant been unable to have pets in rental properties.

It's most unfortunate as most people are very responsible who have pets.

Typical however for the majority been penalised for the minority.

Alas there's changes looming with Residential Tenancies so hopefully it will be addressed with common sense.