Bonnie - Our Dear Old Lady - Died 31st Oct 2003 Aged 14

Bonnie - It was the 24th January 2002 when we first met Bonnie. She shared our home for just 21 months but in that time she touched our lives in a very special way.

Bonnie had spent her early life as a racing greyhound, serving her owners by running her heart out for them on the track as they had trained her to do.

When Bonnie was about six years old she was no longer considered fast enough to race. She was therefore retired. However there was no loving home or cosy fireside in winter for Bonnie. She was left in the kennels where she had lived during her working life. Her life for the next six years was bleak and loveless. She was never taken out for a walk but remained in her kennel as the seasons changed. In the summer it was often very hot and her kennel was smelly. Her owner often forgot to give her any fresh water to drink and she was constantly thirsty.

However it was the winter which really caused the most suffering for this poor creature. She was fed on very basic food – usually consisting only of stale bread soaked in water. When it rained the wind blew the sheets of saturating icy wetness through her kennel. There was no protection from it and nowhere to escape the cold and wet. Her meager rations gave her no chance to build up any resistance against these brutal conditions. The stench from the lack of hygiene would horrify anyone with any compassion for these poor dogs. The roof of her kennel leaked and her bed was wet and filthy. She stood in her own urine and excrement and waited for death, which would have been a blessed release for this poor helpless girl. Nobody ever came and gave her a pat or a kind word. The kennel owner had lots of other dogs to look after and many were still racing. There was no time for Bonnie. There was no warm heated kennel, no fleecy coat to wear when she was cold. We will never know how she survived these years of hardship and misery. Perhaps by retreating within herself more and more as the years passed. Greyhounds have a capacity for putting up with the most dreadful neglect and yet still they bear no malice towards their human jailers.

Christmas 2001 was the time when poor Bonnie could not cope any longer. She had become so thin that she could hardly stand. Thankfully, there were a few people involved with the welfare of Greyhounds who were aware of the problems in this kennel. They managed to get the owner to agree to hand Bonnie over to them. She was by this time nearly 12 years old and extremely confused.

We take in dogs, which are unhomeable in the normal way due to old age or health problems - though obviously space determines how many we can accommodate at any one time. When we heard about Bonnie we desperately wanted to give this poor girl some home comforts in her last months on this earth. We wanted her to know that life could be good and that there was someone who would love her and protect her. All the things she had never known.

On the 24th January Bonnie was driven to Bristol, where we made her comfortable in our car for the last part of her journey to our coastal home in North Devon.

Bonnie was painfully thin and did not seem to want to eat despite being offered all sorts of appetising food. Her eyes had a glazed expression as if she had given up on life and did not much care what happened to her now but that death would be welcome. We tempted her to eat by putting food on our fingers and gently pushing them in her mouth. Soon she was responding and seemed surprised to find that eating could be a pleasurable experience. It was not long before she was eating from a bowl full of tasty food. She was fond of scrambled eggs so this was on the menu for breakfast daily. She also loved cheese. This would not normally be a good choice for an old dog but she needed to put on some fat and she did enjoy it so much that we made sure she had some with her food most days. Gradually she really began to look forward to meal times and seemed delighted at all the new tastes she was experiencing for the first time.

As time passed Bonnie changed from the pathetic creature we had seen when she arrived into a beautiful happy affectionate lady. Her teeth were very decayed and her gums infected through years of poor nutrition. Our vet had to remove thirteen rotten teeth and this improved the quality of her life tremendously. She could now eat firmer food and treats, which she so enjoyed.

Bonnie trusted us implicitly. She never flinched as the other dogs rushed out of the room when the vacuum cleaner came out. She knew we would never harm her and she had no need to be afraid of anything so long as we were there to protect her. Gradually she started to really enjoy her walks along the beach and dunes. She would never try to chase the rabbits on the fields but loved all the new exciting smells in the hedgerows. Soon she got used to the walking routine and would get so excited when it was nearly time to go out. She used to do a little dance jumping around in a circle and dropping down on her front legs giving little barks. The other dogs were a bit bemused by this strange behaviour but they never seemed to mind when she barked at them in glee. We realised that she was probably quite confused in her mind as a result of her former treatment but we know she was happy and was delighted to be a part of our little family. She was a very special part. The love she gave to us was something different to anything we had known before.

On the sixteenth of October Bonnie seemed a bit wheezy and nauseous. The vet said her chest was a little rattley and she had a chest infection. She was put on antibiotics and within a few days she was back to normal enjoying her food and going on her walks. On Thursday October 30th 2003 Bonnie was slightly hesitant to go out for the afternoon walk and I decided to leave her at home. However she did not want to be left and came after us asking to have her coat on and come with the others. Later that afternoon she had her dinner in the normal way and spent a quiet night sleeping at the bottom of our bed on her quilt as usual. The next day Bonnie did not get up to go on the early walk but just remained sleeping on her bed. I decided to take her along to the field for a short walk on my return. However she still did not seem to want to get up and I began to get worried. We decided to get her to the vet immediately. She got up as we put our coats on and walked to the car where we gently lifted her in. The vet listened to her chest and found that her heartbeat was very muffled on one side. She was concerned and decided to keep Bonnie for X-rays to determine what exactly was going on.

Later that morning the vet rang to say that Bonnie had an aggressive cancer in her lungs. We were devastated, as we were not prepared for such news as it had all happened so quickly. The vet said that we could take Bonnie home for a few days on drugs if we really wanted to but that her advice would be to let her go then. She said that she might become unable to breathe and become very distressed. We drove back to the vet and asked to go straight to the recovery area where Bonnie was sleeping on her blanket.

I saw at once that she had deteriorated further since we saw her earlier that day. She showed no sign of pain but was already gradually slipping away. I knelt down beside her and she opened her eyes and raised her head slightly so I knew she was aware that her mum was with her. I cuddled her in my arms for the last time and asked if the vet could just let her go there rather than move her to the surgery. I noticed no movement or even the slightest quiver as she let go her hold on life. Our dear girl had gone from this world where she had suffered so much. We can only be grateful that we were able to give her some of the love and care that was absent from the greater part of her life.

Who is responsible for the suffering of this poor girl? Is it the trainer who owned her and chose to keep her in inadequate kennels after her racing career was finished? Or is it the industry that creates the problem in the first place? Should this business which makes so much money from these loyal loving animals not accept complete responsibility for each and every dog that is bred for it whether they actually retire or are one of the thousands which are not suitable for racing and never even reach a track? With very few exceptions, rescues throughout this country have greyhounds looking for homes in addition to the other unwanted and homeless dogs. Is it not time the Racing Industry accepted their responsibility for these dogs and not leave it to others to pick up and care for the “trash” from their lucrative business?

The most unbearable fact in this story is not the sad death of our dear Bonnie, (who we mourn daily) but that there are other Bonnies – thousands of them – some as yet unborn – who will suffer similar fates but without the care and love that she had in her last months. The kennel Bonnie lived in is still full of dogs and there are many others that are even worse. Some dogs are neglected and are the victims of ignorance while others are deliberately abused and ill-treated. They are just seen as an expendable commodity to many in the racing world. There are some trainers who are excellent and their dogs have the best of care and are looked after very well even when they are retired but this is not good enough.

Every dog has a right to have an acceptable level of care throughout his life even if he is to spend it within a kennel. This is a country of severe dog overpopulation and yet the racing industry adds to the already overwhelming problem. It would be statistically impossible for every dog bred for racing to be looked after properly throughout his life. There are simply not enough suitable homes available and there would never be room for the quantity of good kennels needed or the resources available to ensure that the standards were of an acceptable level. I cannot be at peace while I know that dogs are still suffering like our dear girl did – literally buried in unknown hell-holes hidden from public view but I can see no solution and no end to the suffering while Greyhound racing continues in its present form. I would like to pay tribute to those whose commitment and sacrifice has helped to give some greyhounds a better life. Without them many more dogs would have been killed or left to live out a miserable existence.