The day I had been dreading came. Leo had had a bad night, pacing and panting, and was obviously uncomfortable. During the day he did not improve, though enjoyed laying outside for a while in the morning, sniffing the hot, humid air, and allowing me to take some photos of him such as this one, we even went for our short toddle down the street and back as was his habit, our daily walkies all his life, but as he became more distressed during the afternoon, I took him to the vet, along with my daughter and son, Julia and Harry, and our friends Doug, Rob and Kristie, so that the vet could relieve his pain the only way possible, by sending him to Doggie Heaven.
Leo was one of the kindest, gentlest and most handsome Golden Retrievers you could wish to meet. He had a wonderful life, starting off in England with 6 acres of land to run and chase rabbits on, moving with us to Germany at age 5 where he made friends everywhere he went, and he was allowed just about everywhere, in shops, restaurants, on trams. He travelled all over Europe with us, regularly to France and Spain. When we moved to Michigan in 2001, the flight was not the most fun thing he had ever done, but he was happy to be with us, his family and eventually adjusted to the long cold winters, even tolerating the little boots I put on his feet to stop his paws getting TOO cold, and the hot, hot summers. He also visited Niagara Falls with us, which not many English doggies have done.
When Teddy our Goldendoodle puppy came into our lives last October, it gave Leo a new lease of life, and it was lovely to see the two dogs play together, or snuggle up next to each other. Teddy is already missing his big brother, wandering around the house and no doubt wondering where Leo is.
Rest in Peace my lovely Leo, free of pain and running about now with Daisy and all the doggie friends who went before you. You had a good and relatively long life from 16.9.93 to 27.6.07 and gave so much unconditional love to us all, for which we will always be grateful to you.