September 1st, 2008
Riders’ Dog Down
I know that some of the people who read this have had the dubious pleasure of meeting our two dogs, companions as they were with us whenever we went racing. Three Peaks competitors were surprised one year as they made it through the mist at the top of Whernside to meet two slobbering German Shepherds.
Just over a year ago Zak started getting clumsy on his walks, and was diagnosed with a degenerative nerve disease of the spine, Chronic Degenerative Reticulo Myelopathy. While Zak was cruelly losing control of his legs and back end, the loss of feeling meant at least that it was painless. Oddly he still had the strength to run in his dreams, and he could kick his legs in his sleep.
Despite initial misgivings over his dignity we bought him a dog-cart on trial. We need not have feared. On his first ride we placed him in the cart, threw his toy, and he never looked back. It took a while to figure out a tyre pressure that didn’t bounce him over in corners, especially as he never figured out how wide he was and would run the inner wheel around the trunk of trees on cornering, into the backs of our legs, over the cat…
The wheels gave Zak a new lease of life. By Christmas we had to start strapping his increasingly useless rear legs up to avoid scuffing his toes. He’d also got through his first set of wheel bearings.
By May, at the singlespeed nationals, we feared that Zak wouldn’t make it to Summer.
He surprised us both, and if you were overtaken up the Kenda climb at Mountain Mayhem this year by a dog in a wheelchair - that was Zak.
At Mountain Mayhem
Sadly the spinal deterioration continued to progress and Zak started to lose the strength in his front legs. It was painful to see him stumbling in his beloved chariot.
The time was sadly here to let him go.
Fate is cruel. Yesterday, on his penultimate walk, Zak had another wheel bearing failure. Talk about timing. We had taken him to Coniston, one of his favourite places, for his last weekend, a chance to run and paddle. Zak stoically kept going, as we continually had to grab a one-wheeled sledding dog, then refit his broken wheel. In the end I think it became part of the game.
Today we said goodbye.
Who? Me?
It has become difficult to remember a time Zak didn’t have wheels, he even has his own wheel tracks in the park, one chariot width apart round most of the trees.
Somewhere, once more, he is running free.
![[Valid RSS]](http://32sixteen.com/wp-content/themes/three_column/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
del.icio.us
September 1st, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Nick, I’m so very sorry about your loss. Please pass my condolences on to Kirsty as well.
-CGx
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:39 am
Thanks Chris.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
Sorry to hear that, he clearly had as big a heart as he had a character
September 4th, 2008 at 1:54 am
damn, that was difficult reading that without a tear coming to my eye. I am sorry for you loss - he looked like an awesome dog.
I can’t bear to think of losing my Jacks.
cheers
September 8th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
sorry mate…
The hardest part of owning a dog is saying good-bye. However please do get another it helps.. I know.