Punch, a lovely 12 year old Crossbreed boy, came into Oldies Club care recently. Sadly, Punch had some very serious health problems and, despite dedicated care by his foster carers, and extensive veterinary treatment, Punch was in liver failure and he had to be put to sleep. His foster carers have written the follwing tribute to this very special boy:
Puppy-hearted and with enormous spirit Punch walked gently into our lives six weeks ago. His elderly owner having gone into residential care, he was looked after by a friend and relatives until Oldies brought him to us to foster and hopefully prepare him to be re-homed.
Within hours Punch had walked into our pond, swum the 2 metres to the other side where upon I hauled a soaking wet, pond weed covered (and I am sure) smiling dog out. With a quick shake he took off around the garden then straight into the kitchen to cover the units with pond gunk!
Snuggled down in a large dog bed surrounded by his own duvet and blankets Punch would sleep and snore happily. Suddenly alert to when it was time to go for a walk he would jump up and after a few moments of checking his back legs were working would bounce out to the kitchen, greet our two Labradors and excitedly turn small circles pushing his way to be first out of the door.
At 12.5 years of age Punch gave the other dogs a run for their money. Ahead of the field he plodded on, going where he chose with us chasing after him before he could get too far away. Punch was very deaf and no amount of calling or whistling would make him aware that we wanted him closer to us. Occasionally he would turn round, and although he had cataracts he had good peripheral vision and would come running back if you waved at him, unless of course there was something more exciting closer by.
Punch was always very interested in other dogs as possible new playmates, he would greet them happily and if he wanted to play he would lean back on his rear legs and with his front legs in the air he would clap his paws together, this made anyone watching him smile and laugh. Another trick he tried a couple of times was leaping from a three-foot wall, why? Because he could, it was there so why not give it a go. That was Punch, having a go and having the most fun he could in his world.
Sadly though getting him to eat was a challenge and we feared that there was something going on inside that he could not tell us about. He managed only small amounts of food a day resulting in much weight loss and probable deterioration of his internal organs. On the outside he was his true happy, curious, adventurous self; loving, gentle and sweet-natured but on the inside he was very ill.
Yesterday evening Punch was put to sleep. Thank you Punch for teaching us so much about caring for an older dog, for the cuddles, the smiles and the sheer joy of being with us these past weeks. Now you run free, maybe you will still be ahead of us as we tramp up the hill, turning round to see if we can catch up with you, and maybe sometimes we will know you are there.
Sleep tight, special Punch.