“On a Mish” #416 Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend. Ladbrooks / Tai Tapu. Canterbury. 12.7.2012. My whanau have always named their dogs in alphabetical order starting with Ally, then came Boston, Casper was next and the dog starting with D was none other than Dennis the Wheaten Terrier. The idea with getting a Wheaten Terrier was that they are a medium size dog that doesn’t shed its hair, unlike the Golden Retrievers my family has had before. With Dennis we got what we were after and so much more…
We recently had to say goodbye to our old friend who had lived an innings much longer than expected. Dennis ran into (or someone ran into him) trouble a while back when we think he might have got hit by a car without us knowing. He had major trouble with his back legs and if anyone went near his sore spots he would tell you with his teeth. For three winters in a row, we thought ‘this would be his swansong’ but somehow the dog as tough as a two-dollar steak kept on pushing on. Unfortunately, the winter of 2024 was what got him, along with many other health issues, health issues that would have ended many other dogs much quicker than Dennis.
During his time on earth Dennis and I went on many outdoor adventures. Along with countless missions out to Kaitorete Spit, we also went on some epic overnight outings. It didn’t matter where we were going, Dennis was the keenest in the car. With a smile on his ‘teddy bear face’ he would pounce into the back of the car and begin to show his appreciation of heading out on a mish by barking with excitement. The fact that he was so pumped to get out and about was infectious, and once he got fired up the enthusiasm would spread to whoever was coming along on the adventure.
To me (and many, many others) dogs are so much more than just a pet. They become part of your family and so much more than just another animal. Protecting and personal training is part of their role in the team, but they can also act as an emotional therapy companion who has no issue with listening to your problems. One the long walks we went on (and the odd overnight mish) I would tell Dennis everything that was on my mind and he would listen – in between running about like a madman!
We think that because of his (unknown) accident he wouldn’t let anyone come near him for a check-up, especially the vet. For some reason the vet was a no-go zone, and this was most apparent when he decided to eat an entire block of chocolate. Fearing the worst, my mother got him in the car but getting him out at the vets proved to be a challenge no one was prepared to take on. All we could do was hope for the best, and to our surprise the next day he was fine. It was going to take more than a block of highly concentrated cocoa to take out this beast.
Dennis’s final years were spent walking with a limp and he sometimes showed signs that he was in some pain whenever he had to move about. It was tough to watch sometimes, but somehow, he seemed to just keep on trucking along. He got a burst of life when he met my Jack Russel Terrier Ernie, and then again recently when my parents got their new dog Flora. Dennis wasn’t going to let some young pups push him around, or let any young pup steal his limelight. Seeing the young and old together was awesome, and I know that he will now be reunited with Ernie in the big kennel up in the sky.
In the end Dennis was sedated by his most feared foe, the vet. And an assessment revealed the very unfortunate news that he had potentially cancerous tumours, along with really bad arthritis in his back legs. As things were only going to get worse, the right thing to do was to let him go to sleep for good. Saying goodbye to an old friend is always tough, especially when they have been such an important member of the family. The tears shed will dry but the memories of a dog that lived an awesome life will live on forever. Dennis you are ‘the man’, and your name and memories made together are etched into our minds You will never be forgotten. Goodbye old buddy, much love to a friend I will really miss, and may you rest easy in playful pooch paradise with Ernie, Casper, Boston and Ally….
