Gus Frankcom

Sue told us they had to make the decision to have Gus put to sleep on 2nd July but felt so sad she wasn’t able to talk about it. He had been struggling with his walking and, on that Thursday, when she took him to the fields, he tripped and had a job to walk back home.

She rang her husband, Dave, and they went to the vets. They were there for nearly 2 hours and didn’t know what to do. Gus could have had more pain killers but they wouldn’t have stopped him falling or he could have been referred but they really didn’t want him poked and prodded. As it was, he was wagging his tail and eating till the end, bless him.  

Apparently, he loved the vets and was really excited at being there. They sat on the floor with him and so did the vet. Sue asked if Robert was there as he was the vet Gus loved the best. Although he is the top boss, he kindly came and saw them and made Gus really happy. They then spent more time with Gus. He needed 2 sedatives to try and calm him down as he was so hyper but he was, clearly, also in lots of pain. Eventually they said their “goodbyes” which broke their hearts.

He was a real gentle giant. He had helped little Blu to settle and live in their home so she could enjoy every day of her new life. She weighed in at a tiny 7 kilos and Gus was 30 kilos heavier!  They were very close and he loved her and was happy to sit close to her. He trusted her because she was always so respectful of him. Gus also introduced Blue to the joys of caravanning, which he had absolutely loved, for the last 8 years of his 12 years.   Blue was really sad on the day Gus went to Rainbow Bridge and never left Sue’s side. She is doing ok again now and has even taken over his soft bed in the back room. Gus and  Blue loved it in the garden and spent a lot of their time there. At other times, Gus would lay by the front door waiting to go to the fields. Funnily enough, little Blue sits there now.  Gus definitely taught her well.                      

Gus has left a huge void in their lives but it is good to know he was happy right up to the end and that Sue and Dave made sure he didn’t suffer.    Sue says ” We had Gus 8 yrs ago, after several attempts at fostering. Cindy, who was normally shy and kept herself to herself, welcomed him with open arms and she really wanted him to play with her but he was too scared. We knew from Lab Rescue that he was locked in a house with a Rottweiler,  2 Jack Russells and 2 cats and he had obviously been bullied.

He loved it here. He loved his walks, his food and his holidays in our caravan. He had 3 weeks holiday each year, besides weekends away, but, although he was an angel here, he was a bit naughty when we were away as he was just too excited!! 

Sadly, he had inoperable disc problems being too near to the nerves which were also damaged to operate on. He had little and often walks and pain relief but, in his head, he was 2 not 12.

We had noticed more and more he was getting slower and struggling but we knew that we were not going to have any invasive surgery so we just let him be happy, which he definitely was right til the end. We sat with him for 2 hours at the vets before we could say goodbye but the happiest thing was that Robert, the vet who he loved, came in with us which made a difficult time more bearable.

Everyone loved him as he was so gentle. 

We mourn for him with all our hearts but he is now pain free and running with Cindy and Dillan.

We miss and love you.