Heartfelt Lament for Norris

Editor: It's been a harsh start for 2023 for too many two and four-legged friends and I've found myself lagging recently with some stuff I needed to focus on so I'm also catching up with our furry charges. Like rescues and shelters across the world, we're all in it for the dogs' welfare and sometimes our own lives need some attention but of course, we carry on trying to help the dogs as well. We endeavour to give all of our rescues the life they deserve rather than the one inflicted upon them. In some cases that means we have to keep them in our care and even with the ever-increasing numbers each of them means as much individually as when we had half the number of dogs we do today. It's always heartbreaking when a loved one pass but we should remember that at least we were able to give them a life they enjoyed no matter how bad the start might have been. 

That's only possible thanks to the dedication of the professionals we work with who always go that extra distance. And without you all we couldn't keep doing this - it's your direct support that enables us to do this! Anyway, I'll slip back into the crowd and listen to someone who knew Norris best.

Thank you to everyone for your kind words yesterday for Norris. 

As normal Norris vocalised at 5 in the morning to be let out.  Nothing unusual. At 7.30 Ish I took him out for his playtime. Everything still appeared normal. At approximately 12.30 he started panting a bit heavily so I took him outside.  It then became apparent that something was wrong. After noting his gait losing stability and panting heavier I checked his gums. My heart plummeted seeing how pale they were. I phoned the vet to let them know we were coming in. By the time we arrived he didn’t have the strength to stand even though he made it perfectly clear he was not going to have anyone else touch him - so business as usual on that front.   After being sedated and checked a splenic tumour was given as the cause with the recommendation of euthanasia as his heart had also weakened. He was just a baby. 💔

Norris came into Welfare at just 7 months old with hip dysplasia given as the reason. They were an active family and Norris wouldn’t fit in.  Within days of being here, he had “an episode “ and he shredded my coat! It was more frightening because it was like he had flipped and wasn’t for letting up. I managed to get him off and get back to the house. I contacted the previous caregiver and asked if this was normal. After some hesitation, they revealed more information and we learned that he'd been given Nexgard treatment. You can read more on the dangers  of that and similar products here:

https://gsdwelfare.blogspot.com/2022/04/health-topics-nexguard-and-bravecto.html

There was another side to Norris that was so loving. He adored me and I adored him.  He didn’t want anyone else near him. I suppose I was his safety net.   It is always heartbreaking when we lose our dogs. More so when they are so young and life has been so unfair for them.  I think the flip side to Norris having such issues was the bond between us because of his problems. I’m not ashamed to admit that I feel broken. I embarrassed myself at the vets. Thankfully they were very understanding. There are times when we feel we will never recover from the trauma of things like this and losing someone dear to us.  This is one of those times.  

I will never forget Norris or stop loving him as long as I breathe. Norris wasn’t just a Welfare dog. He was MY BOY ❤️