An elderly woman has been left heartbroken after her "gorgeous" dog died after fireworks were thrown in his direction. One-year-old Button was the faithful companion and "best friend" of Gillian, 86.
But during a walk he ran off after being frightened by fireworks which his family say were thrown towards him. A massive search was carried out but it was only four days later when the tiny Shih Tzu's body was found on a beach, reports Chronicle Live.
The incident happened during an early evening walk on Foxhunters Playing Field in North Shields. And the pet's death has left his whole family devastated.
Gillian’s granddaughter Kay, 31, said:“He was her best friend, he was her moral support." She added: “He made sure she had a cheery little face to keep her going. He was everything to her.”
Kay said the sudden loss of her beloved dog has been a massive blow to Gillian. She said: “I’ve never seen her rocked so hard in my life. She wasn’t in a great place mentally anyway because of her health at the moment, and Button was the comfort - now he’s gone, she’s just a mess.”
Kay added that Button's death had affected the whole family saying: “Whilst he was my granny’s little best friend, he was a family member to all of us. All of us are just absolutely devastated - because of the loss to ourselves, but because of the effect on my gran as well.”
The family got Button as a puppy and say he brought joy to everyone he met. Kay said: “He was the most mischievous little thing. He had such a big personality for being such a little dog.
“Even when he was a menace, he was absolute perfection. We couldn’t have been more blessed with him.
“He was a friendly, loving, caring little pup - and he was very responsive to my gran,” she added. “When she wasn’t well, even though he wasn’t allowed on the bed, he would sneak on to check on her. He was basically her little nursemaid.”
After Button ran away on October 23 the family started a huge search along the coast in a bid to find the pup. “I think I covered 30 miles between Sunday evening and collecting his body from the beach on Tuesday,” Kay admitted.
After news of Button’s disappearance was shared on Facebook, locals began to get involved in the search - leaving the family completely blown away by the support from people they had never met. Kay counted that over 600 people got in touch via Facebook to offer their help or well wishes.
“It was incredible,” she recalled. “I was out in hedgerows with torches and I had cars pulling up, with people that I’d never seen before asking where they could be looking. I’ve never known so many people rally around a cause.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness of people - hundreds have given their time, energy and resources just to help us because they could relate to what it would feel like.," Kay went on. “So despite everything, the outpouring of human kindness has been so reassuring - we’re so grateful to everybody.”
Despite a huge effort from the local community, the search for Button ended with the discovery of his body and Kay was called to collect his body from the beach on Tuesday. Two women even carried out a last act of kindness for the poor dog and his family when they found Button on the shore.
“The two ladies who called when they found him on the seafront - I was hysterical picking him up, and I don't even know if I managed words or just wailed at them, bless them,” Kay said. “But they went to the effort of getting a towel for dignity, and then stood guard until we arrived, which can’t have been easy.”
The support has continued in the aftermath of Button’s death, with neighbours checking in on Gillian after the sad news and even sending flowers. They are now lending their support to a new petition set up by the family calling to ban fireworks in Button's name, so that no other family is torn apart by the loss of a pet.
“It’s changed everyone’s lives - just one reckless, thoughtless action,” Kay said. “They had a couple of minutes of entertainment, and now a whole family’s got god knows how long to rebuild from a tragedy that should never have happened.”
The family hopes that even if the petition doesn’t lead to fireworks being banned, sharing the story of Button will at least encourage people to think twice. “I don’t think for a second that the people who set off the fireworks intended that outcome - I don’t even think they thought it through. But we want to highlight how important it is to be careful, look at who’s around you, and think about what could happen,” Kay said.
“I realise that we’re probably not going to stop them - and we don’t want to stop anyone celebrating, especially when life is so miserable. But if we can get one more person to behave responsibly, then that’s a huge outcome.”
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