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Abstract

id="202a">Suddenly it was on! She was jumping and splashing whenever she hit the water. Over the next few days she went deeper. My partner threw a stick into a waterhole. She swam! She was delighted.From then on, she was always happiest when swimming. She would fetch sticks, but there was a caveat. It had to be a BIG STICK. Small sticks and small splashes resulted in Elle looking back at us like “Nah, not big enough”!We took her to the beach. It was so exciting, she leapt and splashed with joy!<figure id="7a1f"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*0zKJfzgiu8ZL2cbfqZlhlw.jpeg"><figcaption>Coconuts were an acceptable stick substitute for this dog who loved the water. Photo by Author.</figcaption></figure>We didn’t bath her, we just took her to a waterhole or the beach and she always smelled good.<h2 id="4c5d">Peace Dog</h2>Over time, she began to trust us with a loyalty that I hope we deserved. As this trust developed so did her reactions to our interactions.If we argued, one of us was very likely to end up with thirty kilograms (66 pounds) of dog sitting squarely on our lap. It’s very hard to stay angry with a giant puppy squashing you and probably licking your face.She would also appear on one’s lap if one was upset about something. Beautiful, kind girl!<figure id="e45d"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*bqXaBzmoDPG3alCxbfgS8w.jpeg"><figcaption>A much younger me and a much younger Elle exploring Macleay Island near Brisbane, Australia. Photo by Author.</figcaption></figure><h2 id="eee4">Breed</h2>We just don’t really know. From my research I think she was a Bull Mastiff cross Whippet, but there could have been other breeds too. She was too small for a Greyhound cross, but she had a Greyhound shape and run, as well as the Greyhound neurotic personality. She got the Bull Mastiff skin complaints.<h2 id="9ee6">The journey to the Rainbow Bridge</h2>Always the neurotic individual, Elle succumbed to an illness that is almost exclusively confined to cats. Hyperthyroidism. The bills for her medication were horrendous because she had a much greater body weight than most cats.She coped fairly well with the illness and it took a while to get diagnosed. She developed a heart murmur and we were told she probably wouldn’t survive six months. She survived 20 months.<figure id="ebcf"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*HJEi05VuJaOK9xCBGgDB2g.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by Author.</figcaption></figure>The last couple of months were hea

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rtbreaking as she had less energy, then she started refusing food and medication and we knew it was time.Her last moments were spent at home with an incredibly kind local vet. He came to our house and she died being held by the whole family on her favourite cushion looking over the backyard. Almost a year later, I still feel the intensity of that grief. I’m struggling to write this through the tears.We buried her on our block under a tree. When it’s big enough I will strike cuttings from it and we’ll have a little piece of her growing even if we move house.<figure id="9618"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*EcNFAo8tUavPI8KeBAsCgg.jpeg"><figcaption>Hanging out with the children, hoping for some sausage roll. Photo by Author.</figcaption></figure><h2 id="5acd">The letter that I wrote and read to her before she left us</h2>Dearest Elle,My heart is breaking today because it’s the day that you are leaving us to cross the Rainbow Bridge.We “rescued” you 12 year ago and then you proceeded to rescue us over and over again.We started to call you the “Peace Dog” when you would force us to resolve arguments by jumping on us and licking our faces.It wasn’t just your coat that was gold, it was your heart too.You loved us unconditionally and stood beside us at our best and at our worst.You trained us more than we trained you.You gave us so many priceless memories.I don’t remember the last time I saw you do one of your spiralling, crazy “happy runs” but I remember the first, through the sprinklers in Darwin and I can’t help smiling even in the depths of this grief.You were the perfect dog for us and more than compensated for the sacrifices we had to make for you.We will love other pets and treasure their company, but we will never love them like we love you. They will never replace you in the home you’ve created in our hearts.My Belle, my Yellowhead, my Beautiful Girl, leave this pain and cross the Rainbow Bridge. Have a glorious romp with Yogi and know that we are richer for having known you and poorer having lost you and that our memories have moments of priceless joy that no other being could have given us.<figure id="94b8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*qaHdN6cueaGGtdcntzeYMw.jpeg"><figcaption>My last selfie with Elle. Photo by Author.</figcaption></figure>I hope she’s resting in peace now, waiting for us on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.</article></body>

Treasured Animal

A Tribute to a Peace Dog

Elle was a rescue dog that changed our lives by rescuing us in return.

Elle was always under the impression that she was the perfect size for a lap dog! Photo by Author.

Heat-loving dog

We got Elle in Darwin, in the North of Australia, where the weather is invariably hot and usually humid. When we moved back to the East Coast she didn’t enjoy the cooler weather and was always happiest when the weather was hot and humid like her birthplace.

Sadly, we suspect she was abused. She had a special fear of the fridge and freezer. Whenever I opened either of the doors she would disappear and cower behind something. What did they do to her? Was this why the cold weather also seemed to leave her depressed?

Always the heat seeker! Even when her cushions had been washed and put beside the fire to dry. Photo by Author.

Abandoned and neglected

When she was taken to the animal refuge she was emaciated, covered in parasites and extremely timid. She was in such bad condition that her age had to be estimated as “between one and two years”. For the next 12 years of her life we endeavoured to give her a life removed from this neglect and she seemed happy.

Elle loved to swim

When we first got Elle she was terrified of the water. We used to take her for runs to a local park with a creek running through it. We would ride bikes and she would run like the wind beside us, still managing to run faster than the bicycles, pulling whoever she was tethered to faster than we could pedal.

Her physical strength was amazing.

I’ll never forget the moment she lost her fear of the water. I was walking her through a shallow part of the creek and in her efforts to avoid the water she slipped a little and the water splashed around her leg. She paused. She looked at the water. She lifted and stepped watching her paw. The water splashed.

Suddenly it was on! She was jumping and splashing whenever she hit the water. Over the next few days she went deeper. My partner threw a stick into a waterhole. She swam! She was delighted.

From then on, she was always happiest when swimming. She would fetch sticks, but there was a caveat. It had to be a BIG STICK. Small sticks and small splashes resulted in Elle looking back at us like “Nah, not big enough”!

We took her to the beach. It was so exciting, she leapt and splashed with joy!

Coconuts were an acceptable stick substitute for this dog who loved the water. Photo by Author.

We didn’t bath her, we just took her to a waterhole or the beach and she always smelled good.

Peace Dog

Over time, she began to trust us with a loyalty that I hope we deserved. As this trust developed so did her reactions to our interactions.

If we argued, one of us was very likely to end up with thirty kilograms (66 pounds) of dog sitting squarely on our lap. It’s very hard to stay angry with a giant puppy squashing you and probably licking your face.

She would also appear on one’s lap if one was upset about something. Beautiful, kind girl!

A much younger me and a much younger Elle exploring Macleay Island near Brisbane, Australia. Photo by Author.

Breed

We just don’t really know. From my research I think she was a Bull Mastiff cross Whippet, but there could have been other breeds too. She was too small for a Greyhound cross, but she had a Greyhound shape and run, as well as the Greyhound neurotic personality. She got the Bull Mastiff skin complaints.

The journey to the Rainbow Bridge

Always the neurotic individual, Elle succumbed to an illness that is almost exclusively confined to cats. Hyperthyroidism. The bills for her medication were horrendous because she had a much greater body weight than most cats.

She coped fairly well with the illness and it took a while to get diagnosed. She developed a heart murmur and we were told she probably wouldn’t survive six months. She survived 20 months.

The last couple of months were heartbreaking as she had less energy, then she started refusing food and medication and we knew it was time.

Her last moments were spent at home with an incredibly kind local vet. He came to our house and she died being held by the whole family on her favourite cushion looking over the backyard. Almost a year later, I still feel the intensity of that grief. I’m struggling to write this through the tears.

We buried her on our block under a tree. When it’s big enough I will strike cuttings from it and we’ll have a little piece of her growing even if we move house.

Hanging out with the children, hoping for some sausage roll. Photo by Author.

The letter that I wrote and read to her before she left us

Dearest Elle,

My heart is breaking today because it’s the day that you are leaving us to cross the Rainbow Bridge.

We “rescued” you 12 year ago and then you proceeded to rescue us over and over again.

We started to call you the “Peace Dog” when you would force us to resolve arguments by jumping on us and licking our faces.

It wasn’t just your coat that was gold, it was your heart too.

You loved us unconditionally and stood beside us at our best and at our worst.

You trained us more than we trained you.

You gave us so many priceless memories.

I don’t remember the last time I saw you do one of your spiralling, crazy “happy runs” but I remember the first, through the sprinklers in Darwin and I can’t help smiling even in the depths of this grief.

You were the perfect dog for us and more than compensated for the sacrifices we had to make for you.

We will love other pets and treasure their company, but we will never love them like we love you. They will never replace you in the home you’ve created in our hearts.

My Belle, my Yellowhead, my Beautiful Girl, leave this pain and cross the Rainbow Bridge. Have a glorious romp with Yogi and know that we are richer for having known you and poorer having lost you and that our memories have moments of priceless joy that no other being could have given us.

My last selfie with Elle. Photo by Author.

I hope she’s resting in peace now, waiting for us on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.