It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that Scooby crossed the rainbow on Monday evening, safe in my arms, with Bella by his side.

Around four months ago, I took Scoobs to my local vet for a proper groom…. I knew he would need some sedation as he always resisted brushing and he had mats and needed a trim. While sedated the vet called me as they could hear some crackling in his lungs, and recommended an x-ray. It was discovered he had substantial tumours, considered primary tumours filling his lungs. They sent him home suggesting we had weeks rather than months.

I started with palliative care, he had antibiotics and some anti-inflammatory medications and this seemed to help, but clearly wasn’t a cure.

Last week I noted a significant step down… he had an incident on our morning walk where he vomited bile and then fell over in an apparent seizure… he let me pick him up and carry him home… unheard of. While he seemed to make a rapid recovery, I recognised this symptoms from Lucy’s final phase, and watched him closely. His breathing became laboured over the last few days, and I realised I was close to having to make the decision we all dread. He went off his food for 3 days, and was increasingly restless. I made the call on Sunday evening, and arranged for Kirsty from Paws Forever to come out to us on Monday evening. Sunday evening, Scooby ate his last supper. Kirsty was so caring and compassionate – and helped me manage my anxiety about Scooby’s resistance to handling, and made the process as quick and stress-free as possible.

Scooby came to be part of the Cricklewood Crew in early 2022. He was a spicy little character, and I was happy to be able to let him live his last 3 years on his own terms. In time, he came to trust me, and in his last few months, actually sought affection.

Scooby had a few special little friends, like little Ollie, who we fostered for a while, and a friend’s dog Posey, who we babysitted for, and he would run and play with them like a puppy, in spite of his 14 years.

Scooby was a little fighter ’til the end – his spirit was never broken, but his poor little body was. Run free over the 🌈 with the rest of the Cricklewood Crew.