Change Lives

Change Lives

Friday 8 November 2013

A Year For Miko.....My Heart Still Hurts.....

It's a year today since Miko was taken from me just as his life had finally begun. I miss him and think of him all the time. So many nights when I've been out with Smokey or Star, them just wondering around as I potter on, I've had a silent moment thinking of the first ever SHAK dog with serious behavioural issues to complete the journey.

Below is how this amazing boy came into my life. The state he was in:
And this is how I will always remember him. I wrote this the day he died, and still mean every word.....

Miko became unwell this morning, and at 6am I rushed him to the vets with a suspected stomach torsion. Surgery showed that as well twisting, the stomach had severely ruptured, to the point that it was unrepairable. I had to say goodbye to a dog that had become my best friend over the last couple of months.

Stomach torsions happen in "barrel chested" dogs, there have been several studies but none have come up with a definitive reason for why they happen. It's just life I suppose, but it's a horrible thing and as soon as I saw Miko I knew it was serious.

Miko's last weeks on this earth have been a pleasure for me, him and my other dogs. The turnaround in him from when he arrived 3 and a half years ago is nothing short of amazing, and will give me strength to keep going and give these dogs a chance.

People have already started to tell me "at least he was with you in a home at the end, he was lucky to have you" but I see it a totally different way. I was lucky to get to see the real Miko. The Miko that adored my daughter, the Miko that loved to play with the other dogs despite his poor frame, and the Miko that loved to gaze into the fire on a night time.

Miko was incredible and I am going to miss him so much. Maybes a bit like Dudley the bond we shared was close and instant, and the hole he has left behind in my life just as big.