It is with great sadness that I write to tell you that two weeks ago after a short illness we lost Harry, our beloved Springer. We adopted Harry 18 months ago and immediately he became part of the family, he was a real character. Harry was such a loving dog; he enjoyed his cuddles on the sofa and he never tired of chasing a ball. We all miss him terribly but are thankful for all the happy memories and the special time we shared with him. 

The Clegg Family (18-05-2012)

Dear John and all at Caessr,

It is with great sorrow to have to tell you that we have lost our number 1 son Marky on the 19th April 2012 at the age of 10years and 2 months.

Our Marky a real Springer Spaniel for 18 months of the time we had him he loved his life and found it so good running around and playing in mud.

Loved his life and enjoyed it true. enjoyed his holidays and life through and through.

His ashes will now be scattered on the places he loved.

Marky Petrucci. 4/2/2002 to 19/4/2012

Surprises can come in odd shaped packages. That was the case with SADIE. Apart from being deaf and agoraphobic with a pot belly, a back bowed by countless litters. A tail that looked glued on and only wagged in the down position. With paws bigger than a bears, that still didn’t help her walk that well on her front. “Queen Anne” bowed legs. A partial mammary strip that left her tum hairless and lopsided, hips that clicked when you picked her up Sadie was a normal every day springer, well maybe she was a bit slower on the uptake than most to be honest.

That’s who we picked up along with her mother LUCY from the CAESSR kennels one warm June day in 2010. CAESSR had just got off the ground we had just lost our 17 year old rescue Springer. John Powell needed foster and rescue homes for springer’s that had come from a puppy farm in Shropshire. All were in a horrendous condition. One didn’t survive long enough to get a chance at a decent life. David Thomson the vet along with Gina the nurse explained to us that Lucy had an enormous tumour removed, unfortunately they could not be sure that they had got it all so doubted she would live more than a month, maybe two. John Powell wanted Lucy to be fostered with her daughter Sadie as they had a very close bond and indeed they did. Sadie’s mammary strip seemed a trifle then compared to her mums condition, frankly she was second priority at the time.

Sadie was pretty bouncy then but always had an eye out for mum (Lucy). Neither was house trained but that got sorted within a couple of weeks. All went well for a month or so then Lucy had a “stroke”. Her head went to one side and stayed there. Balance went, she would not eat or drink we thought her time had come but the two girls had other thoughts. When Sadie had a drink she would go to Lucy and moisten her mouth with great long wet licks and push her behind when she fell over. For a while I spent some time down stairs with Lucy, Sadie watched and waited for me to sleep. I would often wake with Sadie fussing over her mum.

Lucy gradually got a bit better and I had to have some treatment Foster carers Pat and David kindly looked after them for a week with their pack of springer’s When we went to pick them up we knew we were going to keep them. The girls somehow knew, they settled back into the car curled up together asleep with big grins on their faces a permanent fixture from then on.

Soon we were in Ireland Right in the middle of the country. A Springer’s dream -fields, streams, lochs and furry things to chase. Not for the girls, it seemed no one had actually told them they were Springer’s. Neither was inclined to go outside on their own. In fact for Sadie it was sheer hell! All walks had to be on a lead or she would run (well waddle) for home. One day she just fell to the floor. Hip dysplasia the vet said. Out came the metacam a regular dose from them on. One day Sadie surprised us by going swimming in the loch and the Atlantic. This became her regular exercise except when she got a stick or a ball in the water it was the old story straight back to the car. Things plodded along days out mucking about until a few months ago when she started to go off her food. Never a great eater she would chew thoughtfully savouring every bite unlike her mum the “hoover”. A few trips to the vet indicated nothing then suddenly she stopped eating and drinking. We fed her via a syringe but she went downhill rapidly. The decision was made and we said goodbye the day after Valentine’s Day.

You wouldn’t think there could be much interaction with a dog that had had such a hard life with all her disabilities but it was exactly the opposite. We will sorely miss her gentle graceful ways and so will her mum Lucy. The best things in life come from where and when you least expect them. Sadie was one of them.

John and Mary Parker

We had Masi for almost 2 years and despite his behavioural issues, that we could regretfully not cope with, Masi was a real outdoor dog who would love to roam fields for hours and despite these long walks in the fields he never got tired! He loved water, mud, cow pat and anything grubby coming in from his walks filthy!!! He was so special and loving when indoors he would snuggle for hours on the sofa with everybody including our daughter who was 4 months at time and always found his way onto the bed in the middle of the night whilst we were asleep. (His favourite sleeping position was across our necks)! He loved his 'Missus', his beloved pink poodle and playing football. His favourite treat was ice cubes!!! Every time he heard the freezer door open he was there for an ice cube.

We still miss him soooo much and were devastated when we heard that he had passed away - although it explained a lot of the issues that we had with him. He was one of a kind and we treasure the short time that we spent with Masi and the good memories that we have of him.

We're thankful that CAESSR was willing to take Masi in and were going to help him (and that there exsists such places), and we are sure that if CAESSR had the chance they would have helped him become the dog that we wanted - and matched him to happy home. In the future we hope to get another dog although we sadly don't think that we could have another Cocker Spaniel. If we changed our mind we would be sure to come to CAESSR. Thank you for caring for Masi for the short period you had with him.

Genevieve