Tess Our Special Girl!

by L.Bower
(London)

Tess came into our lives like a whirlwind and life was never the same again!

My two daughters and I had been through a pretty hard time, also we had had our amazing cat for sixteen years and when he passed away we decided to get a dog. We saw Tess advertised for sale so went to take a look at her. What can I say it was love at first sight. She was thirteen weeks old and absolutely adorable! A brindle Staffy who was to turn our world upside down.

What can I say about Tess? Well she loved the beach, snow and cuddles, she took our hairbands out of our hair without us even knowing, she gave us five and ten and learnt everything we tried to teach her in minutes. She tried to bury stones in the sand but never quite managed it,they just ended up behind her! She loved dog chews, people and walks along the Thames, biscuits, cakes and milk and at times she gave me something to get out of bed for, but more than anything she loved us!

I could go on and on about why Tess was so special but it would take forever. In October 2013 she began to show signs of dementia, confusion, getting stuck behind chairs, restlessness, hearing and sight loss. In February this year she suddenly became ill, resulting in the removal of her spleen due to a tumour. We were very sad to be told that her cancer was aggressive and it would be a matter of time. On the morning of July 10th we knew our amazing girl's time had come and we had to let her go.

It was the hardest and most painful thing I've ever had to do. We were with her to the end and it was very quick and very peaceful. We had seen it through to the end with her, it was the least we could do after everything she had given to us. She was thirteen years and three months old when we lost her and we will always be thankful for every minute she was with us.

It's been nearly six weeks and we are still heartbroken and will be for a long time to come but it is getting easier to cope. I have her ashes that I still wish sweet dreams to every night and her hair in a locket around my neck. I also couldn't sleep without cuddling her favorite toy hedgehog.

To lose a dog that has been your life for so long is traumatic and so very painful but we have to do anything we can that will help us through the pain. i believe Tess is still with us if only in spirit, and she will live in our hearts forever.