(Wo)Man's Best Friend | Lifestyle

Today is a sad day for me. In fact, today is more than just a sad day, it's a heart-breaking day for me. There's no point in easing you into this, today I unfortunately had to put one of my beloved doggies to sleep. It truly breaks my heart to think about it but I just feel I need to write something and get things off my mind.  




I had two gorgeous Dalmatians, whom were always so full of love, named Ringo and Roley.They are only young (roughly 8 years old) and I never would have though that we would have one of them taken from us at such a young age. Dalmations are at high risk of developing urinary and kidney stones and unfortunately for us, this is what happened for Ringo. It all happened so suddenly, literally in a matter of days, giving us no chance to prevent the stone formation.

 It was only yesterday, when we took him to the vets, that he became subdued. He returned home last night, after having treatment, but he was a shadow of his usual self. Thinking that just last night, I was cuddled up on the sofa with him, stroking him until he fell asleep, tears me apart. Unknown to me, that was the last time I would cuddle my gorgeous pup.

This morning, he had a return trip to the vets and as he left he appeared perkier...leaving me with high hopes that after a second catheterisation he would be able to return home to be on his merry way back to health. But only a matter of hours later, the vet phoned us to request our permission to euthanize our dog. He was so young and it is so upsetting to have such a thing happen to such a seemingly healthy and happy pet. Upon the call, we rushed to the vets where we gave our beautiful dog one last cuddle and kiss, whilst he peacefully lay there fast asleep and unaware of what lay ahead.

Ringo had such a kind and loving nature. He always wanted to be cuddled and would bury his head into you whilst cuddling. When we first got him, he was subdued and scared, leading us to suspect that a previous owner has mis-treated him. Though, it wasn't long before we managed to coax him out of his shell. As time progressed, his true personality shone through more and more, he learned to play and he would shower us with love and affection. I truly will miss him and it pains me to think how lonely my other dog, Roley, will be without his trusty companion and partner in crime. Seeing them both cuddled up on their bed fast asleep together, heads intertwined, was always the sweetest sight. That and seeing Roley smother Ringo in kisses, licking his ears and face, as the nuzzled up together, the best of friends.

I urge that if you have Dalmatians, that you keep a close eye on the food they eat and even any treats that they may steal away. High purine food is highly dangerous and is a cause of their kidney stones. 1 in 3 male adult Dalmatians are likely to contract high-risk, and potentially fatal, urinary and kidney stones. So, it is really important to make sure you do your best to minimise the risk. Unfortunately for us, the infection happened too quickly for us to be able to react. But hopefully, that wouldn't be the case for other dogs.

I apologise for this less festive post. I just strongly needed to type some thoughts out, because right now my mind is going 1000 miles per minute, I feel sick to my stomach, my heart aches and I can't keep back the tears. But if you took the time to read this heartfelt post, then thank you, dearly.

May my beautiful pooch rest in peace, knowing that he was loved beyond words can explain.

Grandiose Days,

xxx