Rescued with his brother Bodie from a disused scrapyard that had been his home for the last 8 and a half years, and less than 24 hours from receiving a bullet in his head, Doyle's turnaround and his ability to not only trust people again, but to enjoy life was something I think we're all very proud to of witnessed and been part of.
Deemed dog aggressive, Doyle spent the last 6 months or so sharing his kennel with Anja, and when CDRM started to take hold, she stuck to his side like glue. Even when he was in his wheel chair or harness. Such was the magnetic pull of him.
Both of these pieces of equipment changed his life, in fact they even extended it, and I'd like to thank my team for supporting me in trying them out and having faith. On Thursday Doyle was out the back playing with his boomer ball like he did everyday. Yesterday he was more lethargic than normal, he got more subdued throughout the day, and come play time he just didn't have the energy. After checking the colour of his gums I knew we were in trouble.
Moorview Vets were again simply sensational in fitting him in, dealing with him and keeping us posted as to what was happening and why. Explaining how one thing would effect another, and what steps they could do depending on the results.
A scan and blood tests were the first step. However after the scan we knew we could go no further. Doyle was suffering from horrendous internal bleeding. Both his liver and spleen were riddled with tumours. He had been so brave battling on for so long, but then Doyle always did.
He slept away, his head in my hands and our foreheads touching. Paul, Rachel and Janet had travelled to be with him too, such was the love for an amazing boy. The sheer size of becoming so much more apparent when he was resting so peacefully. He had been brilliant for the vets and lay awake throughout all the tests, but you could see in his eyes he was so tired.
I want to say so much about how much I loved this dog, how much I learnt from him. We all did. He and Bodie proved the world wrong, proved that scrapyard dogs didn't have to be treated like the scrap they had protected, proved a charity like SHAK could AND HAS TO exist. The memories are whirling around my head now that I really can't seem to get it all down. Maybe I can share them another time.....
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| Doyle when he arrived. |
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| With my Oskar. Both died of spleen tumours. |
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| Happy in his wheels..... |