In Memory of Emmie
Emmie was born at Holly Hedge on 16th November 2007. I first set my eyes on my beautiful Emmie a few days after she was born. I think we fell in love at first sight.
Emmie’s mum and Grandmother were also in the sanctuary and were Staffy Crosses but as time went on Emmie grew taller and taller and with the most beautiful pointy ears and long nose. It quickly became clear she was crossed with a larger breed of dog which we later identified to be a Thai Ridgeback!
Emmie adored going for walks and trips in the car and everyone always commented on what a beautiful dog she was and asked what her breed was. On walks, Emmie would love stopping to stick her head in the bushes and conifers. She loved gently swaying it side to side so that the bushes tickled her nose and she liked the feel of them on her head.
Dinner time was another favourite time of day for Emmie. She would patiently wait until everyone had finished their dinner at the table and would then come over to gently nudge under our arms with her nose to remind us that it was her treat time. She would wait by the treat cupboard, banging her tail on the cupboard doors like drums and making a hilarious groaning noise until she got her treats. She would dance forward and backwards almost talking! She knew the cloakroom/utility had pigs ears and so anyone taking a trip to the downstairs loo was also reminded that she liked treats when they could hear her sniffing underneath the door!
Emmie grew up with her adopted Sisters Ruby and Beaulah along with a menagerie of cats, chickens and fish, all of which she was so good tempered with. The dogs were also a huge comfort to my late Mum, and they spent many hours in her Annexe with her being such a crucial part of the family.
Emmie has been with us for 14 wonderful years. Being deaf in her later years, she would never want me to be out of sight and we began to communicate with hand signals. She made some wonderful noises that she hadn’t before she was deaf which to us felt like she was trying to talk! I couldn’t leave a room for more than a couple of minutes before I would see her nose come around the corner to see where I was, even if I was in the bath!
Over the last few years, trips to the vets had become more frequent due to her arthritis and thyroid and she was known by everyone and treated like a celebrity! She was quite a comedian!
We unfortunately had to let Emmie go due to her arthritis reaching end stage, affecting her back legs, along with a mass in her nose which was causing severe sneezing fits. It’s unbelievable the impact of her no longer being here and how it has affected our household. To those without pets or have never known the love of an animal, it must be so difficult for them to understand why they are such a loss. They are with you day in, day out, know when you are upset, and they are a huge comfort when life becomes difficult.
I will always love and miss her so much and told her on her last breath to wait for me on the rainbow bridge where we can be together forever.
Gaynor – Emmie’s Mum xx
This is such a moving story and we thank our lucky stars that Emmie was blessed to have spent almost her entire life with such a wonderful family, an enriched life that was lived to the full surrounded by the love, fun and compassion of her humans as well as her dog & cat family.