OLIVER
Went to Rainbow Bridge 5 March 2012

For Oliver

Words cannot express the loss we feel for our beautiful golden boy

The tears flow and the hearts ache for our beautiful golden boy

We see you here we see you there but we know it cannot be

We look again at the empty space there is nothing there to see

We thank you Oliver for the joy you brought with a character all your own

There will always be a place in our hearts just for you alone

With your health restored dear golden boy run with a new found friend

Till we meet again one day dear boy this cannot be the end

We will remember forever the day Oliver arrived – a beautiful surprisingly large golden retriever with very large paws. He was so beautiful with the most lovely eyes. Oliver was twelve and a half years old and finding himself suddenly in new surroundings was not at all nice for him, obviously causing some anxiety.  The flower essence over the next two or three days helped and it was not long before he established himself as a member of the family. His great joy was walking over the fields whatever the weather, finding every smell possible, placing his front paws firmly on the ground and refusing to move until he was quite ready.  Yes Oliver was boss.

Oliver latched onto my husband, Don, and wherever Don was Oliver had to be. Possibly because his original owner was male.

He had so much character, a typical male.  On his walks others would stop to stroke his head and say hello. Soon everyone recognised Oliver.

When Oliver was fourteen years old the weakness which we had noticed in his hind legs some time previously became rather worse with more obvious weakness and signs of neurological problems. It did not deter Oliver from enjoying his walks, always a time of excitement for Oliver, but the walks became rather shorter and then at a slower pace though he would always have battled on had he been allowed still passionate about every smell he could find.

In the last weeks he had episodes of diarrhoea always responding well to metroniazole prescribed by his vet.  Oliver would appear at the kitchen door in the morning with an expression of ‘where’s the fish then’ (recommended by his vet) when we had wondered whether he would want to eat at all.  Suddenly a
dramatic change.  This time the diarrhoea was horrendous.  The vet was called first thing in the morning. 
On the 5th March 2012 sadly it was time to say goodbye to our beloved Oliver. First his vet gave him some love and the trainee vet who came to assist placed Oliver’s head on her lap and bent down to kiss him. We were so grateful for that. The end was so peaceful and his vet so kind. None the less heart breaking though also a relief  that Oliver was now at peace.

Oliver proved to be even more special than we had ever imagined. Three months after he arrived we were given very upsetting news by a consultant at our local hospital, told in an unbelievably cruel way.  Had we known this was going to happen I doubt that we would have considered adopting a dog.  In fact it was the best thing we ever did.  Our hearts and minds focused on Oliver rather than less pleasant thoughts.  Having Oliver was an enormous help and joy. Five months later a referral was made to another hospital, a Centre of Excellence.  Here the staff were so very kind and we felt much more hopeful.  A few problems remain but nothing like those portrayed originally.

We always knew that the moment our golden retriever arrived we would instantly fall in love with him.  What we did not know was just how important that love was yet to be. Our love for Oliver knows no bounds and he will never be forgotten, we will never stop loving him.I am not sure when the tears will cease to flow but he is worth every one.