Ellie May McAvoy

A SAD FAREWELL TO A LOVELY LADY (25.5.2017)

Belinda and Terry’s lovely Ellie May has gone to Rainbow Bridge. She slipped peacefully away on 25th May 2017.They are heart broken but they are coming to terms with the fact they did all they could for her and they really had no choice. Farewell, our special girl.

Memories are precious, they keep our loved ones near
They help to soothe the awful loss of those we hold so dear
Memories are special they help us through the pain
They soothe and lift our spirits till we feel whole again
The glimpses caught in shadows, the light just plays a trick
Those really hard decisions the “thank you” in their lick
Music playing, poignant poems both reminders of those past
Every one so special from the first one to the last.
Memories are forever, they lift us when we fall
We listen for your whisper and answer when you call
“We love you so” “we miss you” “always in our hearts”
Memories will bind the book as your new chapter starts

THINKING OF YOU SWEET ELLIE

Thinking of you Ellie May, fit and well and playing again, and reunited at Rainbow Bridge with your Welsh sisters, Mai and Daisy who, sadly, had both lost their own battles with cancer in 2016. Next to them will, no doubt, be your much missed, adopted older sister Stella and her original family of Bracken and Honey.

You were all fabulous girls who, despite the most horrible of starts to your lives, had brilliant forever homes where you wanted for nothing and where you were all loved to bits. Ellie May, you were a gorgeous girl and now, like all the others, you are going to be a fantastic dog angel. You will be easy to spot as you will be the angel carrying the vet bed.

YOUR FOLKS COULD DO NO MORE

Belinda and Terry gave Ellie every chance when they decided to let her have an MRI scan and needle biopsy. She was such a good girl and so docile the vets didn’t need a deep anaesthetic for her.

An operation to remove her diseased kidney followed and, according to the vets, her other kidney was good but the poor girl still had to spend almost a week in Langford Veterinary Institute which she must have hated. The vets had said she was doing ok and was, apparently, well and happy. She had been no bother through the night and had eaten her breakfast but Belinda and Terry hated the thought of her being there as they knew she would be scared all on her own and with strangers.

At 10.30am on Sunday 14th May, Ellie was allowed to go home and she was delighted. She was looking very shaven but really well and she was delighted to be home, refusing to budge from Belinda’s side.

She was due a check-up on Wednesday 17th at her local vets then she had to go back to Langford to have her stitches out the following Wednesday. Ellie seemed to be doing very well but it was only for a short while as she, suddenly, went off her legs. The vets seemed to think this was “unrelated”. Nick helped her through that with a good homeopathic remedy. Belinda & Terry’s love and care seemed to be pulling Ellie through and she really seemed to have turned a corner.

On the Thursday morning, the old Ellie, all waggy tailed, greeted them with her favourite bit of vet bed in her mouth.

She was due to have her stitches out that afternoon. The vets had said it was definitely a carcinoma but it hadn’t spread and they were pushing to do chemo. Belinda said she was going through that herself and there was no way she would put her lovely girl through even a 10th of the misery she had suffered

To add insult to injury, when Ellie was putting weight on her leg and clearly improving, they also found out she had lost the sight in her left eye but, nevertheless, Ellie appeared to still be really happy so that was all that mattered.

On the Sunday, Ellie had to be rushed into the vets as she completely lost the use of her back legs. Her blood tests were ok but she was anaemic. The vets didn’t know what was wrong but they didn’t think it was anything to do with her op.

Then, suddenly, she went completely downhill and they found she was bleeding into her stomach.

Belinda and Terry loved her way too much to let her suffer so there was only one option.

CHEEKY AND FUNNY

Pauline said of Ellie May, “I know you shouldn’t have favourites but, of all B’s girls, Ellie was mine. I loved her to bits. She was sweet and gentle but also a bit cheeky and funny. The Steve taking her to Norfolk and back episode will forever come into my mind when I think of her. That and her vet bed! She had been so determined that she wanted only Belinda. It had been so amusing when she gave me lovely cuddles but ignored Steve because “That horrible man” was the person who took her away from her Mum. She chose Belinda from day one and everyone knew it was destined to be another ‘failure'”.

SPECIAL MEMORIES OF BELINDA’S GIRL

Pauline remembers “From the moment she put a paw over Belinda’s threshold, we all knew. Ellie May was definitely going to be her girl and nobody else would ever be good enough for Ellie as Belinda was her chosen one.

In 2011, the three middle aged girls, all unspayed breeding bitches, had come from Eileen’s rescue in Wales and all three were shown that very special McAvoy hospitality.

Daisy went for foster to Wendy, Phil and family where the inevitable happened, they “failed” and she never left. She stayed with them until she, sadly, crossed Rainbow Bridge in December 2016.

It was decided that Mai, as she became, would be fostered by Belinda and Terry whilst Ellie May was to go up to be fostered by Jackie and Ron in Norfolk and Steve was the one who, foolishly as it turned out, volunteered to drive her up there from Somerset.

Ellie May was, clearly, extremely unhappy and was very quiet throughout the whole journey all the way up to Norfolk. On arrival, her demeanour towards Jackie really shocked her as dogs always loved her and Ron but not Ellie May. She refused to eat and was so upset she wouldn’t even lift her head.

She was not at all happy to see Jackie and Ron, especially Ron. At that stage, she still hated men and nobody told her that all dogs took to lovely Ron in his wheelchair. Two men near her was far more than poor Ellie could be expected to bear so a new plan had to be hatched.

As it happened, Mai had turned out to be a bit of a cat chaser and Belinda and Terry had Purdey so it was decided swapping dogs would be the most sensible option. Luckily, Steve had stayed in Norfolk for a couple of days so he was able to drive Ellie May back down, and there, he met Belinda and Terry halfway. Mai was not at all bothered by the swap but Ellie May, head down, refused to look at anyone until she heard “that special voice” and instantly picked up when she realised she was going “home”. She couldn’t get out of Steve’s car quick enough!! Ellie’s reaction when she saw Belinda said it all ……… she came alive.

Mai, of course, settled in well with Jackie and went to a brilliant forever home with Judi and her other dogs. She had a wonderful life despite her very long battle with cancer and Mai passed peacefully in August 2016.

ELLIE’S DECISION

When they all got back to Wells, Ellie May regained her appetite and was happy again. She was ecstatic to be home again. Clearly, she knew she had found her forever home and that was how it was going to be. Belinda resisted and tried to find another good home for Ellie May but she would have none of it, bless her.

We all knew, despite Belinda’s protestations about her having too many dogs already, that Ellie May was Belinda’s girl through and through. She had made up her mind that she was staying with Belinda and that was it.

It took Ellie May quite a while to get over her “ordeal” so, although she would happily go to Pauline for cuddles, she would give poor Steve a very wide berth and would give him an icy stare as if to, accusingly, say “You are that awful man who took me away from my Mum!!” It was so funny to see but poor Sreve felt quite hurt and rejected.

Finally, after about a year, Steve was finally forgiven and, one day, Ellie May, with a waggy tail, did him the honour of presenting him with her piece of treasured vet bed. It created a lasting image of a very special, sweet natured, cheeky girl that we will all picture forever.

Although we all knew it was a done deal, Belinda managed to resist adopting Ellie for nearly 9 months until after a lovely doggy holiday, she finally gave in and bowed to the inevitability of adopted a delighted Ellie May.

Of course, Ellie never looked back and had a wonderful life. She willingly shared her home with her sisters, Stella, Millie, Connie, Abi, Cassie and brother, Vinnie, and even more foster dogs who came over the years and she always enjoyed the Get Togethers in Gizzie’s field with her special friends like Mossie, Gizmo and Sprocket.

HISTORY

Ellie May is a pure Golden Retriever who was about 6 years old in 2011. She is an ex-breeder who was rather overweight and had not been spayed but she did have a beautiful golden coat. She was called Cowslip and she arrived with her two sisters, Daisy and Mai.. She went for foster in Somerset with Terry and Belinda who found her to be extremely nervous but fine with the other dogs who all welcomed her.

FOSTERER’S FIRST REPORT (AUGUST 2011)

Belinda writes “When we collected Ellie May it was nine o’clock at night and Ellie May was terrified after a difficult journey. Once out of the transport she lay flat on the ground and refused to move. Since she is very overweight we had to make a huge effort to lift her into the car.

Once home she went into her crate and sulked. She did not eat for several days and we were so worried about her health that we took her to the vet. He gave her a thorough examination and pronounced her OK. During the last three weeks she has gradually joined in the family routine and now eats with the other four girls. She has already lost some weight and we are hopeful of getting her down to normal size quite soon!

She now goes out into the garden but is still too worried to go for a walk – although she did make it out of the gate and across the road – there’s hope yet!! She met the chicken and took absolutely no notice, and takes no interest in the guinea pigs, but only in the last day or so has met our cat – it was not a happy moment, poor Ellie May ran away in abject terror. Maybe she is actually a large mouse!!”

UPDATE OCT 2011

Ellie May is still with us and is making quite good progress. She has slimmed down quite a bit – nothing dramatic as she has only just started going out for regular walks without panicking and dragging us home! She is very frightened of traffic and people when we are out so we have to take her to places where there are no cars – usually to Cheddar Reservoir which is lovely as we can walk beside the water and then take her back across the fields. This morning she managed to roll in a huge pile of fox poo and the house is still smelling despite all our efforts to get it off her! She is friendly when people come to the house but treats them very warily so I think that she should be regarded as work in progress at the moment! Her default is to lie flat on the floor when anything happens that she is uncertain about and it is then very difficult to get her up as she is still around 33 kilos.

UPDATE MARCH 2012

This last few months Ellie May has made great strides. She has dropped more weight and is now down to around 30 kilos. She regularly comes out on our walks and is much more relaxed when visitors come calling. She makes herself known and holds out a paw as if to say “it’s all right now” – with a chunk of vet bed clamped firmly in her jaw. Even terror of the cat is receding – Ellie now walks gingerly past rather than running in the opposite direction. But she is still frightened of loud noises, traffic and sudden movements. And follows us around the house like a shadow.

IT’S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!!

Ellie came on holiday with us to a cottage in Wales where we walked on the beach and through the woods – this is where she began to relax more than she ever had before.

So, we have taken a deep breath and bowed to the inevitable – we have decided that after nearly nine months we have to do what she wanted all along and adopt her. So now she is officially one of us. To mark this auspicious event she has just become the proud owner of a smart new harness to match the other girls’ outfits – all in green and black they look like a performing troupe! Maybe five beautiful girls is enough!!