Missing Mr Brown

As those of you who have followed my journal so far will know, this is Austin. He has been my companion, blip subject, blip inspiration, walking parnter, work colleague and so much more.

This is one of the last photos that was taken of him.

A few days after this photo was taken, browndog became poorly. Nothing obvious at first, just a little off his food. As all vets are super paranoid pet owners, I decided to take a blood sample from him to reassure myself that there was nothing to worry about.

I was wrong. Austin was already in severe kidney failure. His happy-go-lucky nature had meant that he showed none of the usual signs of this kind of illness until things were too far along. With the help of my wonderful colleagues and a few specialists, we did everything we could for him. He sat at home on his bed attached to intravenous fluids, took all the meds with gave him with no objection and wagged his tail in an attempt to be cheerful. However it became very clear after his blood results worsened that he wasn't going to get better.

On Saturday 15th September, we took Austin for a walk and a squirrel dived out in front of him. He didn't chase it. He stopped running halfway to get his ball and then had to lie down. He refused his favourite treat and he looked at me as if he just couldn't find the energy any more.

So, we said goodbye to him. And I have never felt so lost.

He was my constant source of friendship and companionship and he never let me down. I still miss him every single day and I wish we had had the chance to continue our adventures together for the rest of the years he deserved.