Alice

I guess every pet owner dreads the day when they can see the death of their pet in the not too distant future. Hanno and I have reached that point with Alice. It's been a very sad couple of days for us. Hanno had Alice outside with him a couple of days ago looking for a bush turkey that he'd seen wandering in. He called Alice and they went outside our fenced area and down to the creek. All of a sudden, Alice took off after a scent. She didn't come back.

Alice is deaf so there was no point in calling her, so I got our whistle, which she can hear because of the high pitched sound, and I blew on that whistle for about ten minutes. No Alice. Hanno got in the car to search the neighbourhood. Just over the creek there is a big horse paddock and stables so we knew that if she ran over there, at least she wouldn't be in traffic. Not far away is Steve Irwin Way, our main road, that is always full of speeding traffic.

I waited by the gate leading down to the creek, looking to see her furry Airedale squareness come running back. She didn't come, and Hanno came back alone. A little while later, I went out and searched the streets on the other side of the creek. Still no Alice. Then the phone rang. It was the local Council asking if we had lost our dog! The woman living next door to the horse stables had heard her barking and went to investigate. She found Alice in the creek, all caught up in vines. Luckily this lady was a veterinary nurse, she untangled Alice, got her back to her home, gave her some water and phoned the Council, giving them the details on Alice's tag. She finally came home really dirty and totally exhausted. She didn't wag her tail, she dragged her back legs and she was terrified. She had been gone three long hours. We let her rest for an hour, then Hanno washed her and took her to the vet.

A new vet has bought our local practice so he gave her a really good examination. He found she had an ear infection, cataracts - which we knew about, and a severe cardiac murmur. I had noticed that in the past month or so, she'd had episodes of panting, I guess the murmur was the cause of that. There is nothing much we can do for Alice, except treat her obvious ear infection, make her comfortable and keep her happy. She doesn't want to go outside any more, she just goes out to have a drink and do a wee, then she stands at the door to come back in again. The vet said she shouldn't run around, she must rest and take it easy. Hanno and I have decided that one of us will stay with her, but if we both have to go out, we'll leave her inside on her bed in the kitchen. She's a good dog, she never jumps on furniture or destroys anything, she'll be fine inside alone.

So it's come to this. A once crazy, mad dog, full of life and joy, who used to chase Rosie around the backyard, is now a little granny resting on her bed. We've had Alice since she was a tiny puppy and have been lucky enough to share her life. It will be hard to say goodbye. Alice will be 12 years old on New Year's Eve.