The Big Dog
My handsome man, guide dog Biggie, who I cannot live without but for some reason have to try.
My boy developed an aggressive cancer that we discovered in mid May 2025. By the time it was detectable our choices were stark – amputate one of his back legs and part of his pelvis, to give him perhaps extra months. But that would not have been a cure, only buying time. We wrestled with the agonising choice, but in the end I knew I could not put him through something so traumatic with such a tough recovery if all it would do is buy a short time. So we made the decision to let him go, at home, surrounded by love. With my arms around him.
Every day without him is an exercise in both futility and determination. The world seems to have lost its joy, its purpose. And yet I have to keep going, both emotionally and literally, because I need to maintain forward momentum in order to rebuild my shattered heart again. Because the stark truth of it is – I need a guide dog. I am a hopeless, terrible long cane user, and I need my independence.
I have to literally prove the Guide Dogs for the Blind that I am capable of working a guide dog – even though I’ve had two in the past – and being ready to train with his successor … whenever that may occur. The average waiting time for a successor dog is currently around two years.
Here is my best boy, my gentle big daisy flower, in all his glory. Click on each title or image to read the full post.
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