Billy - A Very Brave Boy - Oct 1996 - Feb 2004

Billy came to join our little family of elderly and unwanted dogs on 22nd November 2002. A few days earlier I had received a call from the local NCDL, asking if I had space to take in a greyhound who was suffering from liver disease. He could not be homed in the ordinary way and they feared that he would remain in kennels for whatever period of time he had left. We already had seven dogs at the time – which is normally our maximum. However we did want to help Billy and knew we could offer him a warm comfortable home and the care he needed.

Billy was such a sweet intelligent boy. He was listed as being black but his coat was really a sort of chocolate brown. The thing that everyone noticed though was how soft and velvety his coat was. It perfectly matched his gentle nature. He accepted the other dogs in the household with no problems. He had raced just months before but was not at all threatening to the smaller dogs including a little elderly Jack Russell. He had perfect manners and did his very best to become part of our family. This must have been quite difficult for him, as he had never known life outside a kennel.

The next day we took Billy to our vet who examined him and arranged to do a blood test and a scan. We were relieved to find that there was no sign of a tumour in the liver though his spleen was very much enlarged and might have to be removed. The left side of his heart was also very enlarged and he was still very underweight.

We knew little of Billy’s history except that he raced at Perrybarr track near Birmingham before being handed over to the NCDL when his racing days were over. He was just six years old when he came to us but had the body of a very old dog. There seemed to be problems with most of his organs. He was put on tablets for his heart condition and had special prescription food.

Billy’s health improved over the next few months and his spleen reduced to the normal size. His liver, though very thickened with scar tissue, was now functioning quite normally. His heart was however continuing to increase in size and was cause for concern. In spite of this Billy enjoyed every minute of his life with us. We remember the very first walk over the dunes to the beach when his face lit up in sheer joy at the sights in front of him. Naturally we kept him on an extending lead for a while but very soon he was able to run free and chase up and down after the rabbits. They were far too clever to be caught by him though and led him a merry dance as they popped in and out of their burrows!

Billy always loved to run to the top of the highest dune and just stand and look out over the ocean towards Baggy Point one minute and then gazing at Hartland Point and the ships making their way into Bideford. He must have had brilliant eyesight and he certainly made good use of it. He was fascinated by everything he saw. It was all so different from the kennels in which he had spent all his life until now. The new sights and sounds and smells all combined to invigorate our dear boy and give him a reason to fight off all his health problems and make the most of his life.

Billy seemed to be making good progress and by July 2003 he was putting on weight and we had begun to feel optimistic about the future. However as winter approached, Billy started to lose weight again despite all our best efforts. He had another series of blood tests and X-rays. The results were devastating! They showed severe intestinal disease and secondary tumours around the lungs. Billy was not showing any signs of coughing or breathing problems but the vet pointed out that the main seat of the cancer was undoubtedly in the intestines. This was the reason for the continued loss of weight. Billy was incapable of absorbing most of the food that he was given.

We knew that Billy was very ill and the prognosis was extremely poor but in spite of everything he was still enjoying his life and loved his walks. He would race around the beach on the early morning walk and look forward to playing among the dunes in the afternoon with Wendy – an older greyhound girl who had become his great companion. He was not in pain and the tablets he was having were perhaps buying him a few more weeks to enjoy himself in the place he had grown to love so much.

We gave Billy very small meals every hour and kept him on special food for intestinal disorders. Occasionally we varied this with a little rice and white fish or chicken. He ate voraciously. He was always hungry. The poor boy could not get enough food, as it was not being absorbed properly. He fought on courageously and seemed so determined not to give in. We knew his weight was dropping dangerously and that he was getting weaker. We monitored him closely so that we would know when he was ready to accept the inevitable. We desperately did not want our dear boy to suffer in any way but also did not want to deprive him of one second of the life he loved, so long as were sure it was what he wanted. We knew his eyes would tell us what we needed to know.

I was alerted on Sunday 1st February when Billy seemed to be very weak and a change had come over him. I decided that the time had come and called the vet. However before the vet came Billy rallied and seemed determined to carry on. I watched him during the night but he slept peacefully. On Monday he wanted to come out for a short walk. I was a bit reluctant but he so wanted to come that I put his coat on and we walked down the footpath as far as the dunes where he could see the sea for what I knew would be the last time. He gazed at it for some moments and I felt that he also knew that this was farewell to his beloved dunes.

Billy slept through the night but in the morning of Tuesday 3rd February we knew that the time we were dreading had finally come. We could not let our brave boy down so we arranged for the vet to help him one final time. I held his sweet little head in my arms as he slipped peacefully away. No dog could have fought harder to hold onto the things he loved so much. Billy did not waste a minute of his time with us. He loved the garden and spent many happy hours watching the rabbits, water voles and different birds as they scuttled around looking for food. His life was so precious to him. We can only be grateful that we were privileged to know Billy and to spend those last precious months in his company. We will never know what happened to you during your life that caused you so much harm. Maybe your health was the price for some evil man’s greed. There are those in that industry who care little for the life of a faithful little dog who just wanted to live and run and breathe in the fresh air for a while longer.

When humans die, they make a will
To leave their homes and all they have
To those they love.
I, too, would make a will if I could write.

To some poor wistful lonely stray
I leave my happy home,
My dish, my cosy bed, my cushioned chair, my toy,
The well loved lap, the gently stroking hand,
The loving voice,
The place I made in someone’s heart,
The love, that at the last could help me to
A peaceful painless end
Held in loving arms.

If I should die Oh do not say,
“No more a pet I’ll have
To grieve me by it’s loss”
Seek out some lonely, unloved dog
And give my place to him.
This is my legacy I leave behind
‘Tis all I have to give.

BILLY