My Jake

My dog Jake's a border-collie cross. He's been off-side for a while, he went off his legs on Chrismas Day and just lay there, looking confused. He didn't seem to be in any pain and after about ten minutes he was up and walking about. It happened again this morning. We were in the front room and he suddenly started yelping. All his legs had gone, they were splayed out like Bambi on ice. It must have been painful, straining like that and that was why he was yelping. He was in front of the kitchen door and we couldn't get in, but he dragged himself across the floor so we could open up the door.

I rang the vets and they said bring him right in. The vet gave him a good going over and said he had a heart murmur but it was probably arthritis that was causing him to go off his legs. He was getting stiff while he's asleep then couldn't get up when he tried. She said we could try an anti-inflammatory injection, but she knew what we'd come prepared for.

He's sixteen and he's had a good life. Giving him a pain-killing injection would be for us, not for him. So we had him put to sleep. I cuddled him while it happened, he just fell asleep. The vet left us with him and I stroked him while he grew colder under my hand.

We're having him cremated and having the ashes back, but don't know what we're going to do with them yet.

I've got some pictures from Christmas on my new digital camara, once I've worked out how to upload them, I'll put a couple of pictures up here.

I know it was the right thing to do, but it still hurts.