Rusty boy

Our little man, Rusty. We had to say goodbye to him on Tuesday and it was the most heartbreaking thing. He was our first dog and we rescued him 6 years ago from an awful home. He has given us the most amazing memories. He is the only dog I have ever known that can actually whistle properly. Not a whine but an actual whistle. He would talk to you, sneeze uncontrollably when he was upset down and he had the funniest little fluffy circles above his eyes so it always looked like he had four eyes!

Rusty is an old English springer spaniel. He was larger than most as his father was a long legged show dog. He has little dog syndrome though and thought he could fit on everyone's laps. He also tried to push me away to get into my bed! Rusty was such a huge part of our family. We had the most amazing walks and I loved having evening walks with him so much. He would also come running with me but we had to stop as everytime he saw a squirrel, he would pull me half way across the park. I love thinking about all the funny times with him. He loved to swim in the river and the girls loved throwing sticks out for him to fetch and they would then have to run away before he shook when he came out.

Rusty had started to slow down in the last 6 months. He used to pull all the way through his walk and try and chase anything and everything and would always pull me towards the river but I noticed a huge change. He would start to slow down after a while and the last few weeks, he hasn't wanted to into the water or walk too far. On Sunday, he fell over a few times on his walk and both Gilles and I just looked at each other. We knew it was coming to the time but he was still so with it and was eating etc so we tried to not worry too much. Tuesday, I came home for the day and he was fine. He ran up to us and gave us kisses and then sat at my feet as I ate my dinner ( i snuck him some of my bread under the table). He then lay down on the floor and started to make a strange wimpering sound that I haven't heard him do before. We couldn't calm him down so I decided to try and get him up with us on the sofa. He tried to get up but his back legs had given way. He couldn't move and he seemed in a lot of pain. We got him some biscuits and tried to get him to walk towards us because I thought that maybe he was just stiff from lying down. He couldn't. He finally managed to stand but then fell straight over. He then started to shake really badly. Gilles phoned the vet straight away and explained what had happened and the vet indicated that it wasn't a good sign. We had a feeling that he might not be coming home that evening from the vet. We spoke to the girls and got them to come and say their goodbyes. It was heartbreaking but I thought that they needed that moment with him as I knew deep down this was it. He just lay there and I think he knew too. We wrapped him up in a blanket and carried him to the car. I cuddled with him and Gilles took him.  The vet explained that he had reached the end. His sciatic nerve had gone and he was in a lot of pain. He wouldn't regain feeling and it was kinder to let him go. I had the phone call from my husband and spent the whole night cuddling with the girls and keeping them calm. We are completely devastated. He was such a big part of our family. It doesn't seem real yet. I have washed the blanket we carried him in and the girls now have that to cuddle to remember him but this grief cycle is going to be tough.

(this is a collaborative post)