Oscar-Our Old English Sheepdog

At the opening night of Sals Pizza

Today marks the first anniversary of the passing our our beautiful dog Oscar. Oscar was an Old English Sheepdog, a breed made famous by the Dulux paint advert. In fact Oscar was a grandson of the original dog used in the ad. He brought us so many years of happiness and his loving character made him a very special member of our family. He was bouncy, fluffy and clumsy. He had one blue eye and one brown one and he had an uncanny way of always being around when times were tough. It was almost like as if he was saying “things will be ok”.

Oscar lived in the house with us and three years after his arrrival we got him a “sister” Chloe. Chloe is also an Oldie and The Boss Man as we referred to him, had his nose out of joint for a few weeks. He quickly adjusted and they became the best of friends. On one particular occasion I was sick on the couch and he never left my side until it was time for me to go to bed.

Enjoying himself in The Randles Court Hotel in Killarney.

He had a very serious injury in 2005 when he broke his hock bone jumping into the jeep. He was in plaster for two months but he never once wined.

In the end he developed Arthritis in his hip and simply could not get up. We tried all types of medication to cure him but nothing worked. We even took him to be considered for a hip replacement but the surgeon said it would not make much of a difference. It was very upsetting to see him go down hill as he was a very proud dog and we did everything we could to keep him as comfortable as possible. I would even carry him up the stairs at night so he would be close to us.

This day last year I woke up and he looked into my eyes as if to say “I had enough”. We made the very tough decision to bring him to the vet and have him put to sleep. We had to do it for him and forget about our grief for a moment. The vet explained it all to us and at 3.42pm he fell asleep in our arms in the back of the car. We were distraught beyond belief but knew we made the right decision for him. We got him cremated and his ashes reside on the coffee table at home.

Oscar and Chloe asleep.

He was one in a million and our best friend. He loved us unconditionally. People loved Oscar and he loved people. He would have taken a bullet for us and that I have no doubt. Chloe is still with us and she also misses him. She is brilliant too by the way.

As I go through my personal crisis at the moment  it would have been great to have him by my side. He would have known what to do. A simple lick on the chin or his head against my leg would have done the trick.

So wherever you are today buddy we miss you and love you.

Ciao….

T.