blueadt

Last month I had to say Goodbye to my eldest dog Annie:

Like Blue, Annie came to live with us via West of England and South Wales Airedale Terrier Club.  She narrowly avoided being drowned in a horse trough at 8 weeks of age by her ‘breeder’ as she had been rejected by a broker, stayed in a foster home for 5 weeks as we couldn’t take her straight away and was nursed back to health after her awful start. She finally joined us aged 13 weeks.

Annie as a puppy with Blue. August 2001.

Annie on the summit of The Old Man of Coniston, The Lake District

She enjoyed her life with us and was a well travelled dog as she enjoyed holidays in our caravan:

Blue & Annie (in the red collar) on Lake Windermere

Annie (sitting) with Blue at the Scottish Border with England

Annie chasing Blue on Embleton Beach, Northumberland

Annie enjoying the snow, December 2005.

Tia spent her last night sleeping on top of Annie. November 2006.

She spent her life living with a variety of cats and was always very gentle with them despite the size difference.

She was a very loving dog, not the cleverest but she enjoyed her life.

She also liked our new house and joined in with the unpacking:

Annie pretending to be a cat in a cardboard box

Annie sharing her bed with a very young Oscar

Annie enjoyed Oscar  when he joined us after we lost Blue:

Annie chasing Oscar as a puppy

Annie loved our woodburner

The woodburning stove was also much loved and if she was cold she’d sit in front of it with her head hanging low waiting for it to be lit.

Annie had a variety of health issues including severe von Willebrands Disease which is a hereditary blood clotting disorder and was due to her poor breeding. She lost the sight in one of her eyes due to a cataract when she was 7 and also puzzled the vet on 2 occasions with rare medical conditions which were eventually cured once he worked out what they were.

She was eventually blind in her other eye as well but could see some movement if the sun was bright. However in the last 8 months of her life she was crippled with arthritis (was on maximum dosage of Tramadol but would still wake up crying every morning) and had a hydrotherapy session once a week to strengthen her muscles.

Annie swimming in a canine hydrotherapy pool

She didn’t enjoy it at all but it made a big difference to her mobility.

Then in January this year she got a middle ear infection called Vestibular Disease. She initially recovered but had a number of relapses. Finally she had a bleed on her brain stem, could barely walk a couple of steps and stopped eating. Annie had always been an insanely greedy dog so I knew that it was time to say goodbye.

Annie - April 2001 - March 2012, much loved and missed