Jimmy Tooke

OUR BELOVED JIMMY HAS GONE TO THE BRIDGE

Poor Jimmy had begun to struggle recently and, on Wednesday 12th March 2008, his Mum, Sally, and his vets made the heartbreaking decision to put him gently to sleep to save him from suffering.

She told us “It is with great regret that I have to tell everybody that our beloved Jimmy has lost his battle with his illness. He was put to sleep peacefully this afternoon at my vets. He became ill on Monday (10th) and was admitted to the hospital but he would not eat and was not responding to treatment. We took the heartbreaking decision to end his life and this was done with me in his cage, cuddling him. He went very quickly.

Jimmy came to me a little over a year ago and was an absolute darling – he hated my cats but they managed and he would argue and occasionally fight with my Shih Tzu but they came to an arrangement and got on – just.

He was not a well dog when I got him and he was actually a foster dog – my first foster dog for IRR – guess what I kept him as a forever foster.

He was on medication for his legs and this worked fine for a while then we nearly lost him last May but he fought back and won. We were not sure he would still be here at Christmas but he was – thankfully. This last illness was very short but, this time, it was as though he had given up the will to live and was just giving in. He was an old boy and I believe he had had enough.

He has left a big empty space in our home – all the mats can come up and to be honest it looks too tidy and it far too quiet – he talked a lot. Jimmy’s ashes will be coming back to their rightful place – he will always be with us. You will be greatly missed my darling boy.”

MANY THANKS TO SALLY

Poor Jimmy had begun to struggle recently and so, on Wednesday 12th March, Sally and his vets made the heartbreaking decision to put him gently to sleep to save him from suffering.

Sally treated Jimmy as her own and loved him to bits so she is totally devastated at losing him but, bravely, did what had to be done for his sake. We can’t thank Sally enough for looking after Jimmy so well for us, for treating him totally as one of her own and for giving him a year of very good quality life and heaps of TLC.

Jimmy was one of our sponsor dogs and will be sorely missed by all of us. Wendy, one of his sponsors, wrote this beautiful poem in his words:-

FROM JIMMY with help from Aunty Wendy

When my owner died I thought nobody cared, but you were so special and your life I shared.
I have had many things wrong with me,
but you have always nursed and taken care of me.
Living with you has been such a happy time too, and I have loved every minute and the company too.
I know I may have been grumpy sometimes with you, but you understood me and loved me too.
I know we have brought each other so much pleasure, and the memories are left for you to treasure.
I’ve grown very old and it’s time to go, and I know for you the tears will flow.
I will always be just a whisper away; you may hear me sigh or groan during the day.
One day I know we will meet once again, and I hope knowing this will help ease your pain.
Thank you again for being my very best friend, and thank you for being with me at the end.
I want you to know that you were such a ‘Special Mum’, and I know to you, I was a very Special Son.

HISTORY

JIMMY was supposed to be a Labrador but is probably a Lab X. The dear old boy was 11yrs old when he came into IRR care. Apparently his owner died so he was very sad and lonely.

We had been told that he is good with children but not with cats although I doubt he could move quick enough to cause a problem to one at all. As far as we know, he lived without the company of other dogs.

Fiona, who was his temporary foster mum, said ” Just took him out for his wee. He seems well settled at the moment. He is eating very well. Even his poo is solid (me and my poo watch).

He is fine around the dogs as long they leave him alone but if they pester him (which one of my charges is doing) he will really show some teeth (and who could blame him).

He is still very scared and shakes even when I approach to put his lead on.
He has little energy at the moment and his back legs are very weak but he is on a supplement for this.

We suspect that he has had little exercise recently and his muscles need gently builing up again.

UPDATE 28.2.2007 (from Sally, his fosterer in the UK)

Jimmy is a lovely old boy – he is getting attached to me – all he wants is a cuddle and contact. He does NOT like CATS at all so a home without cats is a must for both dog and cat – he still tries to chase them and his back legs do not like that. He is good with other dogs.

He does not look for trouble but he will warn any off that get too much. He loves my older girl – a home with another dog especially a bitch would suit him. He eats well, goes through the night and is totally housetrained. I took him out for a short walk last night and he loved it. All in all a lovely dog that deserves a chance.

UPDATE from SALLY 17.03.07

I have been fostering Jimmy for 3 weeks now and must admit I am rather smitten with him – he is a lovely and, at times, lively old man.

He plays happily with a tennis ball or my other dog – he is gentle and loves nothing more than putting his chin on your knee and gazing into your eyes hoping for a cuddle. Since I have had him I have managed to fill him out a little – a dog of his years that puts on weight shows that he is healthy.

He loves his meals but is happy without treats. He is wearing a magnetic collar and is on supplements for his back legs which seem to me with a regular feeding regime and short walks to be at the very least stable – if not slightly improved. I must admit I have not seen him walk upstairs – mainly because the cats are there and he is NO fan of CATS.

Jimmy is a lovely dog and deserves his forever home – I will say that if he tolerated my long suffering cats, which I am afraid seems to have been a life long dislike, I would have been very tempted to keep him. There is a lot of life and love in the old dog yet – somebody must want to take on this lovely old gentleman.
As Jimmy is very happy and settled with Sally, he is going to remain with her in forever foster for the rest of his life. God bless you, Sally.

UPDATE on JIMMY 11.6.2007

Jimmy was very poorly recently and had to go on a drip for a few days. We all feared that this could be the end but he came through very well. However, the vet thinks that if he has any more of this type of episode it would be best to let him go. However, on the positive side, she seems optimistic and if will alone would get him through he would live for another 20 years!

Sally says: I know it is early days really but Jimmy is now acting like a terrible teenager. He is into everything, plays like a nutcase with toys, runs (and he gets up a speed) into the back garden. He is eating well and doing all his business to a very high degree. In fact, he seems the best he has been since I had him, much more alert and up for trouble. Maybe he was incubating whatever was wrong with him for a while?

He is a true delight and both Graham and I love it when he shows his true nature. As a younger dog, I dread to think, he must have been a holy terror.

He is a joy to behold and I love having him here. It has been a difficult introduction to fostering but I have coped and I am hopeful I could cope with most things now.

FURTHER UPDATE ON JIMMY

Just to let you know that Jimmy is doing OK and fighting fit despite having to have 8 teeth out. I also wanted to let you know about one of my other rescues that I got last year from Ireland – rehomed her through a local rescue – she was found starving in a hovel in a field obviously been dumped – she is a Collie Spaniel Cross – she was bought over here because it was felt she would get a better chance of a home which she did with me.

She has also had to have all or almost all her teeth out as they were just black stumps (this does not stop her eating chews). Well, for the first two weeks of her coming here she would not get out of the downstairs loo – she finally did without being hassled – she slowly came round – at first she did not bark she does now, she plays with toys and comes when called but would still not go out on a lead.

Since I have had Jimmy – she fell in love with him – things have improved for her – she has more confidence and now she comes out for walks with Jimmy and I. We might have helped Jimmy but he has certainly helped my other dog, Dolly. He is a real treasure.

JIMMY SPONSOR DOG

Jimmy became a short while representing all the other elderly, infirm dogs who are no longer wanted. He proved to be very popular but, sadly, his time was limited. When he passed, Buddy took over his kind sponsors:-