Gladioli
Well-Known Member
I have been wanting to do this for a while, to introduce my lovely boy to you all who I sadly lost in June. Bomber was a rescue GSD, as a puppy he was kept in the back of a van for the first 18 months or so of his life and we assume beaten in order to try to encourage aggression. He was then rescued to a kennels and did not do well there so ended up living with the family although he was always destined to be rehomed and I think he was destined to be with me. He was first rehomed to a friend of mine however he was cut late and when her bitch came into season he would fight with her other dogs, it seemed an ideal situation for him to come and live with my mother who had just lost her dog. When he was first rehomed you could not tell him off if you did he would just lie on the floor and wet himself, he could not run (he just did a funny trot) and did not know what to do with toys and did not even squat to wee, he just did it standing there. He however became the most perfect dog for my family. I have an elderly mother who is not very steady on her feet and she was able to walk him, if they were going down steps he would wait on each step for her to catch up before he went down the next. He would come to the yard with me and play in the school and with the other dogs and would also come running with me.
It had been very hot that week and I had gone running without him as he was long haired and it was just too warm for him however it was much cooler that day but something stopped me from taking him, I dont really believe in fate but I think she may have had a hand in the decision. At midnight my mother called me from downstairs she had gone to put him out and he could barely stand, I called the emergency vets and took him to them in Ystrad Mynch. The vet picked him up out of the car and examined him, his heart sack was full of blood the vet drained this and did warn us that sometimes with GSDs they get blood tumours on their hearts which can cause this problem he did stabilise him that night and he was transferred in the morning to our vets however they could not say with certainty what the problem was, all they knew was that he was desperately ill. Eventually a referral was arranged to Vale Vets to see a heart specialist Mark Patterson, he was fantastic and we talked before he examined Bomber and basically he said that most vets only see these heart tumours a few times in their careers he sees them most weeks. I asked him the dreaded question of what he would do if it was his dog and it had one and the short answer was that in Bombers case he would have him PTS. He examined him and found a tumour along with other things such as fluid on his lungs and a shadow on one of his organs. Basically no treatment and no cure. I did not want to put Bomber through any more so he was put to sleep there and then, I held him and stroked him and talked to him the whole time. I thanked Mark for knowing what he knew as he was able to tell me the right thing to do for him.
He really was my dog of a lifetime, I absolutely adored him and he did me, in the house we were inseparable, he was so good with children and other dogs (as long as they werent entire!) So soft and soppy everyone at the yard adored him even those who did not like big dogs. He adored cheese and as a very special treat he would have a little bit, he used to go cross eyed when he was waiting for it. He was only approx. 8 when he died which was far too young. I still miss him every day and sometimes I expect him to be here when I get home. So rest in peace my boy, you really were the greatest.
It had been very hot that week and I had gone running without him as he was long haired and it was just too warm for him however it was much cooler that day but something stopped me from taking him, I dont really believe in fate but I think she may have had a hand in the decision. At midnight my mother called me from downstairs she had gone to put him out and he could barely stand, I called the emergency vets and took him to them in Ystrad Mynch. The vet picked him up out of the car and examined him, his heart sack was full of blood the vet drained this and did warn us that sometimes with GSDs they get blood tumours on their hearts which can cause this problem he did stabilise him that night and he was transferred in the morning to our vets however they could not say with certainty what the problem was, all they knew was that he was desperately ill. Eventually a referral was arranged to Vale Vets to see a heart specialist Mark Patterson, he was fantastic and we talked before he examined Bomber and basically he said that most vets only see these heart tumours a few times in their careers he sees them most weeks. I asked him the dreaded question of what he would do if it was his dog and it had one and the short answer was that in Bombers case he would have him PTS. He examined him and found a tumour along with other things such as fluid on his lungs and a shadow on one of his organs. Basically no treatment and no cure. I did not want to put Bomber through any more so he was put to sleep there and then, I held him and stroked him and talked to him the whole time. I thanked Mark for knowing what he knew as he was able to tell me the right thing to do for him.
He really was my dog of a lifetime, I absolutely adored him and he did me, in the house we were inseparable, he was so good with children and other dogs (as long as they werent entire!) So soft and soppy everyone at the yard adored him even those who did not like big dogs. He adored cheese and as a very special treat he would have a little bit, he used to go cross eyed when he was waiting for it. He was only approx. 8 when he died which was far too young. I still miss him every day and sometimes I expect him to be here when I get home. So rest in peace my boy, you really were the greatest.
