My dear Brakkie

Yesterday Caelyn came to visit so that Wendy would be able to see Brakkie and be told how ill he was.  He has always loved that child, and when he heard her voice, he ran to meet her and make a fuss of her.  Then he ran out of energy and needed to lie down, so we made a bed for him on the sofa, and Wendy "read" him a story.



He is so up and down that it has been hard to decide what to do.  Last night I noticed that his skin was separating from his body, and I knew he was in pain despite the medicine that the Vet has prescribed for him.  This was confirmed later when he growled at me when I went near him.  He has never done that before, and it wasn't an aggressive growl; it was more of a "don't touch me" growl.  Michelle and I have decided that we will try no more treatment.  He is in an awful state and getting worse by the day, so tomorrow afternoon we will ask the Vet to put him to sleep.  We are all very upset but it is the right thing to do for our dear old friend.  His welfare has to come first, and our feelings second.  I'll post a couple of pictures showing his skin and fur separating so you can see what I mean.



These changes happened suddenly, in the space of 3 or 4 weeks. The weight fell off him and he began losing his hair, and having fits of a sort.





See how miserable he looks?  Under his tail he is very red and swollen, and I suspect he is like that on the inside too.



Poor old friend! It will be a very sad farewell. We have loved him, and he has loved us, and been part of the fabric of our lives. Wendy has never known life without him, and he is in most of her baby pictures because when she is here, he stays close by her, protecting and playing. He let her wrap him up in Christmas gift wrap. It was a game they both enjoyed. Why are there never enough 'tomorrows'?