My partner, Paul, and I are dog lovers through and through but our office jobs meant it had never been practical, or fair, to have a dog of our own. In lockdown our working situations changed, however, so we visited Oxford Animal Sanctuary and met Buddy, a labrador/border collie cross. He was nine and very reactive to other dogs. Knowing he had spent three years in and out of kennels, we couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him in what must have been an incredibly stressful environment. So on 4 July 2020 we brought him home.
With us, Buddy was docile, gentle and obedient. He never barked or charged around; he was the perfect house dog. A real character, he loved waking us up by grabbing the corner of the duvet in his mouth and ripping it off. He adored playing football and always tried to join in when I attempted Yoga With Adriene or a Joe Wicks workout. But the sanctuary had warned that if he saw another dog he would become agitated and aggressive and want to charge at them. So every time we took him for a walk, Paul would have to go ahead and make sure the coast was clear.
In 2022 we moved to a house with a much bigger garden, so we stopped taking Buddy for walks and he enjoyed playing there instead. It saddened me to think of all the experiences he was missing out on, but he couldn’t have been more loved.
Then, in August last year, he developed a severe limp in his front left leg and the vet diagnosed arthritis and muscle wastage. He was prescribed painkillers but within a month he was in pain again. We were back and forth to the vets but by this February he was constantly in pain and every day was a struggle. We knew it wasn’t fair on him, so we made the heartbreaking decision to have him put to sleep.
That’s when Paul had the idea of arranging for him to visit a pet store, where he could experience a new place filled with delicious smells, sniffs and treats. We just had to make sure there wouldn’t be any other dogs there. We contacted Pets at Home in Bicester, and they gave us a time when there was unlikely to be anyone else around, and agreed to stand guard.
Paul and I were in bits on 15 February as Buddy limped through the shop doors to be greeted by a sign written in treats that said: “Hello, Buddy!” He was so excited that he almost lost his limp as he sniffed his way around, wolfing down the trail of goodies the staff had left. After about half an hour we thanked them and left but Buddy didn’t want to get in the car.
We said our final goodbye the following morning. Buddy brought us so much joy that we are glad we could give him a final treat. We call it his Make a Wish event, as we know it would have been all of his wishes come true.
