Dear Zak,

We have lost our little Greeta, the SPCA special office dog. We still don’t know what went wrong (the results of the post-mortem are still out). Last weekend she started coughing badly so we took her to the 24hr vet who diagnosed kennel cough and treated accordingly and she appeared to improve a bit but was still coughing badly so we took her back on Monday and she was given an antibiotic injection which seemed to help. Tuesday we took her to another vet as she was down again and they changed the treatment and asked us to bring her back on Wednesday for an antibiotic drip. She was definitely perkier when we picked her up that afternoon and gave us a gentle wag of her tail – we really thought we were on the road to recovery.

Thursday morning Marianne let her out and then suddenly called me; “Come quickly, Greeta’s collapsed!” Poor girl, she dropped on the back verandah and her breathing was intermittent and she was unconscious. We tried to keep her going with CPR but her gums were purple and her pupils unresponsive. We rushed her off to the 24hr vet again but she’d gone by the time we got there.

We got Greeta from the SPCA last October. She’d been the office dog and was showing the result of all the treats – a little bit rotund she was! She got her name as she loved greeting all the visitors and we were assured she loved playing with other dogs. We were looking for a younger playmate for Themba (Tia is about 9 now and not so keen on playing), she seemed ideal and it didn’t take her long to fit in.

We soon discovered she was clueless on directions and we had an anxious time when one morning she got lost on ART Farm. Fortunately she was wearing a GPS collar and we soon found her but thereafter she was walked on a lead!

Such a gentle girl she soon became known as Sweetie Greetie and responded well to training despite having had none that we could tell. She loved her training, running between Marianne and I, her long tail madly waving in big circles. Breakfast was also a favorite time for her getting first lick of my finger dipped in yogurt. Teatime, she would patiently wait for her piece of rusk and ever so gently take it from me. Teatime over she and Themba would start to play, chasing each other madly around the garden. She certainly wasn’t any longer the chubby girl that we’d adopted.

She was heavily into her comfort zone. We always knew where to find her – either on the couch or her cushion in the dining room. Persuading her to move off our bed in the evening and onto hers and Tia’s could take some patience. Who could blame her? We had little idea of her background before the SPCA but she did have old scars on her back and nose from what could have been caused by being hit by a vehicle. It was probably not an easy life but cut short far too soon.

We have buried her close to you – there really are too many dogs buried in this garden. Too many broken hearts. Yes, many precious memories too.

Dear Zak, these memories are so hard to write. We take on you dogs knowing that we’ll outlive you but you make us so happy and we have such fun enjoying your company. Saying goodbye is so desperately sad.

Love you.