Bruce Forrest

GOODBYE TO A TRUE GENTLEMAN (27 July 2015)

Barbara, Colin and Alexander are trying to come to terms with the loss of their lovely boy. She tells us ” We are very sorry to have to tell you that, sadly, Bruce passed away last weekend. We are devastated at his passing and will mourn him for a long time to come. Bruce was the best of the best and a true gentleman.

We adopted Bruce in 2008, when Alexander was 5, so you can imagine how close they were. We miss him dreadfully. He was well know by all the local children who loved him as much as we did. As Alexander, our now 12 year old, said “Bruce had a lot of fans”.

We would like to thank you all for homing Bruce with us. We, at least, know that his final years were very happy. He was adored by everyone and loved to bits”.

We know they all think they were lucky to be able to share their lives with Bruce but, equally, we are sure that Bruce would have felt that Alexander, Barbara and Colin were the very best owners a dog could have. We are certain he loved them all very, very much and we think Bruce felt like the lucky one to have found them and been able to share their lives for seven wonderful years.

Barbara has written a wonderful tribute to Bruce:

” It has been a very sad time, Bruce was very special but, unfortunately his time had come.

He was in a lot of pain. We tried all types of medication but when he could no longer stand or when he was up could not get back down we knew it was time. On top of this, Bruce through the years also went blind and deaf. He managed both of these well and still very much enjoyed his walks or should I say his sniff fests. He knew, whenever he was on the lead, that he was safe and he trusted us to make sure that he didn’t collide with anything. Bruce was the most trusting dog ever.

When we contacted Irish Retriever Rescue we asked if their was a possibility of rehoming a “bomb proof dog” as we had a five year old son with many friends. You, of course, said there were no guarantees but you would do your best. The BEST was done and we were offered Bruce. I can, hand on heart, say, in all our time together, Bruce never once snarled or growled at anyone or anything.

Obviously, Alexander and Bruce were best mates and, because of this lovely relationship, several local children were helped in overcoming their fear of dogs. Bruce truly was one in a million !!!!!!!!”

Fly high with the angels, Bruce

HISTORY

Bruce was a 6 year old male Golden Retriever who was already known to be good with children. He was fostered by Kevin and Marie.

FIRST REPORT

Marie says: “Bruce arrived early doors after being kindly transported by Jon and was definitely in need of a bath on arrival (Bruce not Jon)!!

He and Honey met with just a few grumbles and low growls from Honey but nothing major. During the day they did absolutely fine and we were confident enough that they could stay with the run of downstairs last night. We left them at about 11pm last night and didn’t hear a peek from them until we came down at 10am this morning!!

We were greeted by Bruce and Honey and on quickly checking there were no signs of accidents or damage. Both had waited and went to the toilet when I let them out in the garden.

Bruce loves everyone and his tail never stops wagging, he has met some of the neighbours’ dogs and there have been no problems at all. He has good basic training sit, down, stay and comes back when you call him on the long line. He has loads of energy and pulls quite a lot on the lead and he is quite strong, I am sure with a bit of work he will be fine though. He loves his toys and especially running after a ball, we had loads of fun this morning letting him chase ball.

He was good in the bath for Kevin and is a lovely pale golden colour that looks almost white – well he did until we went for a walk this morning and he tried to get down a rabbit hole….

He has a lovely temperament and comes for lots of fusses, with his tail swinging non stop. He is not a dominant dog and recognises Honey as alpha dog by letting her drink first etc – he only barked yesterday after she did (I think just to show he could too). We have fed them separately for now and he loves his dinner.

His hair on top of his head and around his eyes has thinned and he has some itchy, dry and scabby skin for which we are going to try him on some oily fish. I am sure when this clears up he will look absolutely gorgeous.

He will be a lovely addition to a family as he likes lots of activity and loves the kids – we feel privileged to borrow him and we are confident he will find a permanent home soon. He is just so happy it’s like he has been here weeks.”

UPDATE ON BRUCE

Marie said. “Well what can we say Bruce is a star – no problems at all. He is a well behaved fun loving dog who never stops wagging his tail. At the IRR reunion he went round with the girls meeting all the dogs and had a fantastic time. Thanks to Sandra he also had a go at the agility with Kerry and Kira and they all enjoyed it. Its something a new owner might want to carry on with him – he certainly has potential. He has been off lead with us and done really well – he loves to chase his ball and we bought a launcher at the Reunion which throws it quite far and he loves to run for it.

We do have lots of rabbits on the nature reserve where we walk and if he gets a sniff he does become more interested in them! He also loves playing football – he does like to burst them and hold them as well though (as you can see in the picture). His head and skin have cleared up nicely and you can hardly tell now that there was a problem his fur is growing back nicely. One of his favourite games was playing hosepipe with Kevin – he loved catching the water!! The photos show him doing what he does best, having FUN.”

BRUCE HAS GONE TO HIS FOREVER HOME

Marie and Kevin said. “Bruce’s new owners came all the way down from Fife in Scotland to meet him and as expected there were no problems at all, they like everyone else fell immediately in love with him. We shall miss his waggy tail and joy of life – have a lovely time Bruce with your new family – you will always have a very special place in our hearts”.

FIRST UPDATE FROM HIS FOREVER HOME

Barbara said. “I am quite sure that everyone will agree with us that Bruce is just the most gorgeous dog. He has been an absolute pleasure since the moment we picked him up. Many thanks to his foster family Kevin, Marie and kids what a lovely family, who took the time to let us meet Bruce and answered all our questions.

As you can see Bruce loves the water, although he has to be thoroughly washed on his return due continuing skin problems. Bruce has a wonderful time chasing squirrels and cats and then lying in front of the fire for the evening with his pigs ear. As Kevin & Marie told us Bruce loves everyone, the kids love playing ball with him and feeding him the odd treat.

As you can tell Bruce has settled in with absolutely no problems. He is a big hunky beast and we all love him to bits. We think he looks a bit like a bear with his big square head and jet black eyes and nose but we can assure you he is just a big teddy.”