Saying Goodbye

The month of August saw us saying goodbye to our beloved family pet, Sandy. When the Mr and I first moved in together we took a trip to Manchester Dog’s Home, we hadn’t planned on coming away with a pet, we were just exploring our options. That didn’t last long when we came upon a young German Shepard, her eye’s beaming and happy personality won us over and before we knew it we were signing those papers for her to come home with us that very afternoon.

Sandy hadn’t had a very good life prior to arriving at the dog’s home, she had been picked up as a stray after her previous owners had abandoned her. She was a dog used for breeding and when she could no longer serve her purpose, she was discarded like she did not matter despite recently having a litter. That all changed when we brought her home, she was spayed and she was given the chance to become a much loved family pet and not a breeding machine.

Sandy was the happiest and most well behaved dog I have ever come across, she had the softest nature and was gentle with our other animals. She was clumsy and shed hair constantly but she made us laugh on a daily basis, she loved everything and everyone. She loved adventures, she loved to swim, she loved being surrounded by people and like most dogs, she loved a good belly tickle.

Over the past year we had noticed that Sandy was showing her age, being 16 years old she was doing pretty darn well. She began to struggle with her hips on walks, her eyesight and hearing wasn’t what it used to be and her bladder had us up at all hours. Despite that she was happy and content with life.

Three weeks ago we had discovered that Sandy had passed away in her sleep during the night, we knew that it had to happen some day but it’s still that initial shock, we weren’t quite expecting it. She wasn’t ill or in pain, just merely an old soul.

Sandy was an amazing dog, she brought a lot of joy in our lives. I can’t quite explain how much it hurts to know that she is no longer here with us but i’m happy that on that afternoon, those many years ago, she chose us to come home with. Saying goodbye to something that has played such a huge part in our lives hasn’t been easy