Thank you to James Willoughby at the Northumberland Gazette for a beautiful piece on Star.....
The next instalment of our weekly series dedicated to Alnwick-based dog sanctuary, SHAK. An emotional tribute has been paid to a much-loved SHAK dog, who passed away last week.
Star lost her battle against a splenic tumour on Friday and the charity’s founder, Stephen Wylie, expressed his heartache following the death of his ‘best friend and rock’.
Star arrived at the sanctuary in March 2013, and lived with Stephen for the last five years. During this time, she changed from an aggressive dog to one that loved humans and her own kind. Stephen said: “Star was one of the most amazing dogs I have ever had the privilege to know. I didn’t see this awful disease coming to take her. “She came to me after being booked into the vets to be destroyed for repeatedly biting. I could get her out to walk her, but it took more than two months before I could actually touch her. She was that bad. “Eventually, once I could get closer, I noticed she had a terrible infection in both ears. I muzzled her and tried to look, but she just went ballistic. “I drove her to the vets, they sedated her and got a good look in her ears – they were rotten. She had them cleaned out and was given antibiotics and from that moment, her life changed.
“She loved everybody and was amazing with other dogs – reassuring them if they were scared or telling them if they crossed the line. She helped so many at SHAK.
“It dawned on me a while later that her ear issue was probably why she’d bitten people. She nearly lost her life because of that, but instead she went on to help so many others. Now she’s gone, I feel lost. She was my constant companion who went everywhere with me. I am so proud of what she achieved and I miss her so much.”
Read more at: https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/an-emotional-farewell-to-the-brightest-star-1-9206624
The next instalment of our weekly series dedicated to Alnwick-based dog sanctuary, SHAK. An emotional tribute has been paid to a much-loved SHAK dog, who passed away last week.
Star lost her battle against a splenic tumour on Friday and the charity’s founder, Stephen Wylie, expressed his heartache following the death of his ‘best friend and rock’.
Star arrived at the sanctuary in March 2013, and lived with Stephen for the last five years. During this time, she changed from an aggressive dog to one that loved humans and her own kind. Stephen said: “Star was one of the most amazing dogs I have ever had the privilege to know. I didn’t see this awful disease coming to take her. “She came to me after being booked into the vets to be destroyed for repeatedly biting. I could get her out to walk her, but it took more than two months before I could actually touch her. She was that bad. “Eventually, once I could get closer, I noticed she had a terrible infection in both ears. I muzzled her and tried to look, but she just went ballistic. “I drove her to the vets, they sedated her and got a good look in her ears – they were rotten. She had them cleaned out and was given antibiotics and from that moment, her life changed.
“She loved everybody and was amazing with other dogs – reassuring them if they were scared or telling them if they crossed the line. She helped so many at SHAK.
“It dawned on me a while later that her ear issue was probably why she’d bitten people. She nearly lost her life because of that, but instead she went on to help so many others. Now she’s gone, I feel lost. She was my constant companion who went everywhere with me. I am so proud of what she achieved and I miss her so much.”
Read more at: https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/an-emotional-farewell-to-the-brightest-star-1-9206624