May 2011

We tragically lost our fabulous fun loving big boy Henry on Friday.

Last Monday he had an operation to remove a tumour (which turned out to be a grade II soft tissue sarcoma with a 20% chance of returning).  The vets kept him in slightly sedated to help keep him calm to aid the wound to knit together.  He came home on Thursday, much to his delight, but, unfortunately, got a stomach torsion overnight.  We are totally devastated.

We have had nearly 9 years of utter joy (and despair too sometimes, I might add) of his companionship and fun loving ways and we thank you so much for letting us have him.  In late 2002 we took him home - not long after his first birthday.  He has been everywhere with us.  No more going abroad on holidays - we just went somewhere in the UK and he came too.  He has had many adventures exploring Aberdeenshire, Morayshire, The Highlands, Skye, Argyll, Cumbria, Yorkshire, The Lakes and Cornwall.  Since we moved from Cambridgeshire to Worcestershire he has been busy up the Malvern Hills.

You said all those years ago that he would be an over zealous greeter and boy you weren't wrong, but we managed it and with a few tricks up our sleeves he did settle after the initial onslaught.

He has been a wonderful friend to us and to our wee boy Will (born 2010).  I would take them both out for a walk in the morning and Will loved watching Henry's antics - especially if it involved water or rolling.  Our vet thought he was in great condition and his weight perfect, considering we had had Will last year.  He sees a lot of dogs getting fat when babies come along.  We were determined that Henry was to continue to have his routine and he loved coming out and about with us.

We are still trying to come to terms with our loss and our young son Will is still looking for him and he's only 16 months old.  They were good wee pals and Henry was brilliant with him.  I am still taking Will out for the daily walk wherever it may be - he was so used to walking Henry every day and gets all ratty if we don't go out.