18 months ago Joe and I adopted a little old rescue dog. He was found tied up and abandoned in a park and he was in such a state the vet wanted to put him down. But the amazing people at All Dogs Matter brought him in, tidied him up and put him out there for adoption. Being 13 years old not a lot of people were interested in him on the Oldies Club website, afraid it would be too hard to get attached for such a short time, but Joe and I fell in love with that little orange dog and decided to give him a forever home with us.
Outsmarted by the dog on his very first walk!
Wilson was both mine and Joe’s first dog so we had to do a lot of learning – fast – especially adapting to Wilson’s health and mobility problems! We tried a million and one different foods until we found a brand that wouldn’t upset his tummy, we discovered doggy nappies to help with his incontinence, we even made sure to get him bright orange and blue toys so he could see them better with his deteriorating eyesight. Long and short of it, we fell head over heels for this grumpy old little dog and he made our life and little family complete.
A few weeks ago Wilson stopped eating. We tried everything we could think of but he started to lose weight and energy very quickly. We took him to the vets for some tests and a few days later we got the news we had been dreading – Wilson had kidney failure and wasn’t going to make it. Our vet advised us that it was time to let him go.
Last week at 5pm we said goodbye to Wilson our little VIP OAP and put him to sleep. It was the single most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do and I honestly haven’t gone a day without crying since. Adopting an oldie is really tough knowing they won’t be with you for very long but even though our world has been shattered a little from losing Wilson we wouldn’t change the past 18 months for the world. Seeing how Wilson came into his own during the time he spent with us has been wonderful. What was a shy and frightful little dog became an affectionate (although still pretty grumpy!), happy and relaxed old pup. We gave Wilson the most loving home to see out his twilight years and even though he’s no longer with us we will never, ever forget that little orange dog.
It’s been a REALLY tough week for Joe and I this week and this was the hardest video I’ve ever had to edit, but when I started my weekly vlogs I promised to be real and show every up and down.
Please note this is a very upsetting weekly vlog but so many of you have fallen in love with Wilson too I felt it was only right to share his last few days with you all.
Goodbye little Wilson, you’ll always have a forever home in our hearts <3
xax