Rainbow Bridge

Sadly, on the 25th January 2019 we had to say goodbye to our beautiful chocolate Labrador Milo (previously Pier). We adopted Milo in November 2012 and collected him from his foster home in Exmouth. We didn’t know anything about his previous life other than he was rescued by Many Tears from Ireland.
From day one of him joining our family he was the most loving dog. He lived for his food, as all labs do, and loved going out for long walks in the countryside. He enjoyed spending time with his cousin Harvey (a parsons terrier), also adopted from Many Tears and never showed any signs of complaint when Harvey stole his bean bag. He’d normally get his own back by stealing some of Harvey’s food.
Over the recent Christmas period, Milo started to lose control of his back legs. As this loss of control was so quick the vet thought he may have slipped a disc. He had an MRI scan in the New Year which revealed that Milo had an inoperable tumour (liposarcoma) which was affecting his spine and his ability to walk. The neurology vet said he must have been in a lot of pain even with the strong painkillers prescribed by our own vet. He had always been the happiest dog you’d ever come across and would never complain so we had no idea that he was in so much pain. His condition deteriorated quite quickly and even with stronger medication it wasn’t able to relieve his pain. Knowing this, on 25th January we had to make the heart-breaking decision to say goodbye to our beautiful Milo.
We miss him so much, he was our most beautiful boy. We miss him all the time but are finding some comfort in knowing we got to spend 6 amazing years with him.
The Ward Family

Good afternoon Sylvia
I am sure you will remember Oscar, we adopted him 5 years ago tomorrow. Sadly I am writing to let you know that his kidneys failed him and the very sad decision was made to put him to sleep last night. He wasn't in pain but over the course of a week he went from being his normal happy self to being a very sad boy. The blood tests revealed our worst fears so we had to make the toughest decision ever.
When we adopted him we understood your concerns over his behaviour due to his previous life but over the years he progressed so much and became a beautiful, loyal friend and pet.
Janine and I are so sad that our darling big boy has passed away but we would like to thank you for giving him and us 5 years of happiness. I wish you'd have been able to see him before he went as you wouldn't believe the transformation that care, time, effort and patience had brought out the true Ozzie.
He loved tennis balls to the end but on Sunday at the beach he just couldn't raise himself to go for more than a paddle! I am attaching a couple of photos to jog your memory and show you how happy he was.
Kind regards
John McOmie

My family and I adopted ‘Nash’ an ex-breeding dog, in November 2013. Nash brought so much love and learning into our home! He resource guarded me from the early days. Our family and Nash was on ‘Dogs, Their Secret Lives,’ the telly program with Mark Evans, DVM, because of his reactivity. Luckily, I studied with Turid Rugaas and became a dog trainer in 2015. The simple use of the ‘hand signal’ helped Nash to stop resource guarding and biting my husband!!   We were also in the Sunday Times article on dogs and play because Nash wouldn’t even look at a tennis ball – a fact I am glad about as he would rather sniff and explore - better for dogs anyway.
We adopted Nash with the knowledge that his teeth were in a poor state. We helped him through two dental surgeries under the expert care of Dr. Martin Brice at Emerson Green Vets in Bristol.
Nash also had a congenital heart murmur. He was getting weaker and weaker throughout the late months of 2017 and ended up on heart medication for his congestive heart disease. He died in my arms on Easter Monday 2018. God bless him, we miss him every day. I would love to rescue another ex-breeding dog soon and urge anyone with love and patience to do the same.

On 10th October I said goodbye to my beautiful collie Rosie. After years together she turned out to be one of the best collies I have owned. The start of our journey wasn't easy but we turned a lot of corners very quickly. She had a heart full of love and a personality so big my home is really empty. Rosie is not only missed by me but also by my other rescue dog. Run free pain free. Xx

On Sunday I said goodbye to my lovely Amber (Many Tears name Damson) as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  She's been with me for 7 years and was a gentle affectionate little dog who never caused me any trouble whatsoever.  Although she has been frail for some years she always
enjoyed going out in the buggy. 
Her condition deteriorated rapidly on Sunday to the point that I had to call the emergency vet to give her peace.  She left us as she had always lived - quietly and without any fuss.

I will miss her very much, Rex and Poppy still keep looking for her,
Rex  in particular was very caring and gentle with her, washing her face and cuddling up to her.

Regards

Julies

Little Mouse, adopted 30/9/2006. Cover girl for a 2012 whippet calender and Miss July.
Sadly lost, her heart was strong but her kidneys had failed. We were lucky to have had her in our home.

Dear Many Tears

Where do we start. Our beautiful little man, Marley, sadly, passed away at 2.25pm,Thursday 23^rd August 2018 aged 12. To be honest, we can’t quite believe we are having to write this to you.

His illness was very aggressive and we are not quite sure exactly what was the cause. From Monday 20^th evening to 2.25pm Thursday 23^rd August. He went from being fit with a health check pass the week before,  to losing him so quickly. Still in shock and we are heart broken. Diagnosed with anything from IHMD to a tumour or ulcer via Vets and Referral Hospital but he went so quickly. We could have found out what the cause was but what’s the point, nothing will bring our darling back.

Marley (was Andy) came to us in 2010 ,a 4 year old ex stud dog as company for our Springer Libby. Such a character from day one.  He grew more in personality and literally everyone (human or animal) loved him, sometimes, too much. He went to work with Alan and everybody would make such a fuss of him!!. He was in a way submissive but not scared and embraced all he came in contact with . We lost Libbs 7 months  later so adopted Doogie (was Ian) , a Cocker Spaniel aged 8 years from MT in 2011. Marley was such a wonderful role model, not having long with Libby, he stepped up to the mark and showed Doogie that life could be great. They were together 5 years until we lost Doogie in May 17. Marley was lost and started pinning so we adopted Peanut (was Salty), a nine month old Cocker Spaniel from MT in June 17. Again Marley  helped Peanut into home life and in turn became a pup again himself through play and Company. They had just over a year together.

Marley  was such a  adorable, sweet, funny dog,  who never upset anyone. He ended up with various names such as Charlie Chaplin, (as he was very comical), Marley Man (as he was soo chilled) and Marleykins (just because) plus a few endearing other names. When we got him, we soon found he couldn’t bark properly, he sung instead.  He would put his heart and soul into a sound like “Helloo” through the smallest gap in his lips, his little front feet would nearly lift off the floor with the passion he put in. You could get him to sing at any time. This was his party  piece. He didn’t want much out of life, just us, home, food, toys and cuddles. However, he had the need to wake us up each day around 5am . Whether this was anxiety of just because he could, we’re not sure. It would started with him sniffing under our bedroom door, then, when getting no response, started having a scratch leaning on the door which shook everything. When we came out, he would greet us with a waggiest tail and holding a toy in his mouth, looking at us with his big eyes.  You couldn’t tell him off.

Marley did swim even though he wasn’t a natural. But when he got his “bits” wet, he ran around like a thing possessed with such a happy look on this face. We also sadly lost my mother a few weeks ago and was with us when we adopted Marley. They became very close, sometimes it felt he loved Mum more than us. He would go up to  her to have his back/bum scratched, which he loved and would go head over heels and then have it done all over again. Mum was always happy to oblige his demands.

It breaks our heart that our little Marley man has gone from us. But he is with Mum, Libbs and Doogie now, being spoilt rotten with bacon and treats.

Everyone deserves a Marley in their life. We are so proud we found ours,  he is truly irreplaceable and we are devastated. Our little shining star is even brighter now and will remain in our hearts until we meet again at Rainbow Bridge.

Thank you Many Tears for all you do and for giving us our perfect little Marley man.

All our love forever and a day.

Mum, Dad and Peanut

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 (Amanda & Alan Evans)"

It is with regret that our rescue dog Mikey who we adopted in 2011 has passed onto the other side after a short illness. Where do we start? from the day we had him he settled in with our other 2 dogs which soon became 3 and for 7 years was a major part of all our lives. He was a very loyal, mischievous and very loving dog. He took to the grandchildren like duck to water and they will sorely miss him, especially pinching their food when they weren’t looking, ha ha a monkey he was. His big loving eyes looked into ours right up to the last moment. We hope wherever he is now were sure he`s pain free and had a wonderful 7 years whilst he was with us, which he never had prior to being rescued by MTAR. Mikey you will always be in our thoughts and the void will never be filled but only time will fill the void you`ve left. My shadow has gone, missing you already fella.

I just would like to let you know that a German Shepherd dog i adopted from you in 2006, went to the Rainbow bridge on 28 june 2018. He was 12½ years old. He was 5 months when i adopted him, he went into your centre with 2 x sisters, they were called,Glaze, Glow and Gleam. They had not had a good start in life, however Jack then went on to have a great life, loads of walking, training, trips here there and everywhere. He was a very loyal dog, he is missed very much.
Regards, Helen Francis x

Please include my darling little Cavalier Hope. aka Sprinkle, in your Rainbow Bridge. I adopted her along with Holly aka Sparkle, 6yrs ago.
Holly as already crossed the bridge and today Hope began her journey. She has been the most outstanding caring dog anyone could wish for.
They came together, and Hope never left petrified Holly's side.
She cared for her, cleaning her and showing all about toileting outside. I took in a rescue Staffie with a brain tumour, and once again Hope became the carer. She even lay with him at the end. 

18^th June 2018, Pinky left us for Rainbow Bridge, we had her for two glorious years after collecting her from her fosterer, Adrienne  who had taught her well.
This photo is when we had had her for only five days, she won ‘Best Rescue’ in our local dog show.
She became a happy little lady, always wagging her tail and always eager for food, she enjoyed her walks with her sister, Betsy and her other MT friends.
We found out she had a grade 2 heart murmur, but it didn’t initially cause her any problems.  The last few weeks she had become lethargic and didn’t want to walk (always eager for food though).  She had developed a pancreatic insulanoma which meant her blood sugar levels were depleted, sadly her health deteriorated and she finally lost her battle.
We will miss her so much.
                                                   Until we meet again, darling Pinky

Carol & Gary Collins and of course Betsy xxx

Dear All,
It is with sadness that I am informing you of the death of our much loved Star, aged 7, whom we adopted from you in August 2011. Last weekend he became poorly and was found on Monday to have an inoperable bowel tumour and we were advised that it was kindest not to wake him up. We are all heartbroken.
After a rough start in life we collected him from his fosterer, Joyce, in August 2011. He was skin and bone and had separation anxiety. With a constant routine and the help of his friend Medley – our now 9 year old MTAR collie/lab he settled well into family life and was a fabulous and lovable dog. His recall was never great mostly because of his ability to find balls everywhere – often darting off into hedges and woods and coming out with a tennis ball!
He was very affectionate and was very gentle with everybody he met, especially with nervous children. Thank you for entrusting his care to us – it was a privilege to have him for almost 7 years.
With Best wishes Karen, Tim, Rachel and Lucy Clarke – and Medley

This was my last photo of darling Poppy on her sofa, on the day we had to say goodbye nearly 2 years ago. We knew for a while she had breast cancer and it had started to give her pain. Poppy never complained though.
When we adopted Poppy in 2009, Sylvia said at the time that Poppy had been taken from the pound on the day she was meant to be put down. She was so starved and neglected they couldn't put her in the kennels but kept her with them in the office area. They were looking for a caring home for her quickly. Instead of the black Labrador / cross she should have been, here was a very thin, brown, foxy looking dog with deformed ears of approximately 4 years old.
We got her home late that day from Wales and I didn't want her to feel alone so I wrapped her in a blanket ( she smelt so bad!) and she slept by my side all night without moving. From that time onwards she never left my side. Eventually, she was able to be bathed, and slowly she transformed into a beautiful black girl.
Later on that year we fosterered and then adopted pregnant Willow ( from MT ) Willow eventually allowed Poppy to help with her pups which she loved! After all 11 is a lot to care for! She washed the puppies regularly and helped them learn their social skills and soon earned the new name of Aunty Pops! They all loved her and I never worried about her being with them as she was so gentle and caring always.
Darling Pops, what a beautiful heart you had. Treated so cruelly by some humans and yet in return, she gave me unconditional love, total obedience and loyalty . A very precious girl who will always be in my heart .
I miss you still so much. Xx
Cynthia Goulbourn

I want to say a HUGE thank you to Many Tears for letting me have my beloved little westie, Kirry. Unfortunately she passed over the Rainbow Bridge yesterday after 11 beautiful years of unmatched love, loyalty and friendship.
I never imagined that when I took her home from Wales all that time ago, I was taking home the beautiful doggie she was to her dying day. She was a timid, shy and extremely nervous dog when we first met her as she was an ex-breeding dog. This meant that she had never experienced life inside of a home, or any love from a family.  When we got her home after a long journey back to Twickenham, she was very confused as to what to do.
The most rewarding thing about Kirry was watching her personality developing during the coming days, weeks and watching this happen was the most amazing feeling, seeing this beautiful soul emerge. It turns out that not only was she the kindest of animals, but she was so gentle with anyone, including my Grandchildren. She also has a really quirky way about her which made us laugh almost every day.
Kirry was a companion when I was on my own and came everywhere with me in the car. She enjoyed her camping holidays in Cornwall, (although she hated water!!) and always managed to find a zip she could escape from so that she could have a sniff around. She never wandered off though too far and when going for a walk, she was always hot on my heels. I never needed to put her on a lead. She was part of our family and we all loved her more than words can say.
Kirry was extremely ill towards the end with stomach cancer, but she never let us know as she was a brave, strong little dog. She never showed her pain!! My house and my heart feel so very empty now she has gone and we are all going to miss her so much, but I thank Many Tears for allowing me to give a special dog like Kirry the love, family and life that she deserved.
THANK YOU!!
Regards Jane Kerr

It is with very great sadness that I must tell you that Casper our gentle giant had to be put to sleep on Sunday 25th February. He had become unwell on the previous Monday, rallied on the Thursday 22nd. We thought he was going to rally Unfortunately he did not and the kindest thing was to say goodbye. Nobody really knew what was the matter.

He was four years old when we adopted him and he was a beautiful dog very gentle and very loving.  We  had him for just under 4years I was hoping to have at least a few more years with him by my side He enjoyed the companionship of the other dogs we had and now leaves Harvey by himself at present.

 He enjoyed life, loved the beach, loved cuddles, loved walking over the fields and meeting all his friends, he was a real rock for me over the last 18mths whilst my husband was very ill. He came into his own about the same time and we all loved him to bits, very handsome, chunky dog.  R.I.P. Casper, very much missed always. ( the tri colour)

Thank you so much for letting us adopt him a beautiful dog

Best Wishes

Joy & Brian Rolfe

Heidi (Shay at Many Tears) passed away on Friday 2nd Feb.  We adopted  her in May 2016 and she was an 8 yr old ex-breeding dog.  She has brought us so much love and joy for the past 20 months and I’m utterly heartbroken that she has gone.  Unfortunately she developed Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis  on Wednesday and the vet thinks it got the better of her partly due to her heart condition.
I just want to say thank you to everyone at Many Tears for rescuing and fostering her and bringing her into my life.  She was a happy, loved and spoiled dog for the last 20 months.
Louise Bennett

Hello Many Tears,
Unfortunately Ebony passed away at home on Sunday 14th Jan after being quite ill. She lived to a good age of 12 and 3 months which is good for a Doberman. I'm devastated as she was my first ever “own” dog but I want to thank MT for letting me rescue her when she was 6 months old as Ebony has brought so much happiness to my life. MT keep doing what you are doing, you guys are amazing!!!
RIP Ebony, my baby girl and best friend. 2005 to 2018.
Steve Kenny

It is with great sadness I let you know that our darling Daisy May (formerly Otter) left us on the 3rd of January for her journey to the rainbow bridge. We adopted her in September 2015 knowing she had a heart murmur which we were told did not require medication. Sadly her heart deteriorated fairly quickly.
During the short time of 2 years she was with us she gave us more pleasure than we could have wished for. She was so tiny but was very feisty and very vocal. Afraid of nothing, she settled in with us very quickly and was practically house trained with the help of her 3 sisters within a week. She was a bright and happy little dog and I am so grateful for being able to give her all the love and comfort she so deserved. She loved everyone and everyone loved her.
For the last 6 months of Daisy May's life she was still able to join in walks with the others by travelling in her bright pink pet pushchair. She would sit there like a little princess and was allowed to walk the last few yards home. She always waited at the bottom of the stairs at bedtime so that I could carry her up and not put her under any unnecessary stress.
Despite all the medication and several sessions on oxygen we decided it was unfair to let her struggle so we had to make the very difficult decision to let her go.
She was only a very little dog but she has left a very large footprint in our hearts. We shall never forget her. Sweet dreams baby Daisy.
Val Prince and Family.
Pictured here with her 3 adopted sisters she is 2nd from the right.

This is Selale's Story.
January 2013: After losing our 3 year old Weimaraner Ollie last year to Leukemia, we needed a dog to fill the void left by his departure. My wife, Lesley, was searching the internet one night and discovered Many Tears. At 1.30 am she shouted me through to the living room and excitedly showed me Selale. I was faced with this stunningly beautiful dog with the saddest of stories about the first 18 months of her life in Turkey. By this point Lesley was already smitten and to be perfectly honest, I didn't take much persuasion to fall for this beautiful creature.
Soon after, I contacted Many Tears and got in touch with Selale's foster Mum, Jane. I had a lengthy telephone converstation with Jane and this only confirmed that this was the dog for us.
An application form was completed, as was a home visit and arrangements were made for all the family, Lesley, our 2 sons, our other dog and myself, to travel to South Wales to meet Selale.
The weekend we had arranged to travel, the last weekend in January, brought with it some
terrible weather. It had snowed heavily across the whole country and on the Friday some of the
motorways, including the M6 we would be using, had been closed as a result. Undeterred, we
checked the travel news on the Saturday and found that the M6 had been reopened and off we
went.
500 miles and an overnight stay later we arrived at Many Tears on the Sunday, excited and
apprehensive. As we drove along the road and approached the rescue centre, we could not
believe our eyes when we saw Jane walking Selale towards us. Selale was even more beautiful
than in her pictures and we could not wait to meet her. We spent some time with her in a closed
compound and it was clear that she was very timid and would need a lot of time and effort spent
on her, but this was a challenge we were willing to accept. Selale was to become our new dog.
Paperwork completed, we loaded up the car and made the 500 mile trip back home.
I had taken 2 weeks off my work so that someone would be in the house with her to help her
settle in. Initially she would not come near me, her aversion to men in particular was all too
evident, and she spent most of her time lying on my youngest son Ethan's carpet, only emerging
to see what was going on then immediately returning to her sanctuary. I would put food out for
her then leave the room to allow her space to feed.
On the Tuesday night I had to go out for a few hours and during this time Lesley and my oldest
son Conor worked out that in a bid to gain Selale's confidence they would give her a bath. They
gently and carefully bathed her and Lesley spent ages drying her, brushing her and petting her.
When I returned Lesley had worked a minor miracle. This timid and stressed dog had suddenly
become obviously more relaxed and had started to realise that we were not going to hurt her as
was used to back in Turkey.
Over the months and years we all worked extremely hard at gaining her trust and developing a
loving relationship with her. And Selale became the most loving, loyal, dependable, cheeky and
comical dog we could ever have hoped for. All members of the family would develop fantastic
friendships with her. She would, however, always remain wary of strangers and would become
highly stressed travelling in the car and even more so when visiting the vets.
Devastatingly, in the second half of 2017 we were hit with the bombshell that Selale had
developed cancer. It was discovered that she had a very large cancerous mass in her
intestines. After several stressful visits to the vets and the animal hospital, we were given the
option of subjecting her to major surgery that may or may not remove all the cancer, probably
needing a second operation and then numerous chemotherapy treatments only to possibly give
her an extra couple of months. This is all assuming she made it through the first op.
Knowing how traumatic all these visits and treatments would be, and the less than favourable
prognosis, we decided to take her home and care for her in a stress free environment, surrounded by the people that love her. 4 glorious months, and another Christmas, later, we had to make the terrible decision to say good bye to our beautiful Turkish angel. The house feels so empty without her and it will take a very long time to get over the loss.
Thank you so much to Many Tears for saving this girl and allowing us to share our lives with
such a wonderful companion.
Sweet dreams Selale. We wll never forget you.
Ronnie Fraser

Tilly came to us in August 2016 after being used for breeding for 8 years. She was a lively and beautiful dog, who still had so much spirit after enduring so much heartache for the first 8 years of her life.
Tilly was the best friend of our Cavalier, Damsel, and the two were inseparable. Tilly died suddenly in my arms on Boxing Day, and she has left such a big gap in our lives. This is testament to the huge character she had for such a little dog.
We will miss her so much xxx

 

We visited Many Tears for the day back in December 2009 to help out and walk dogs for the day. I went into one of the pens that held several dogs and felt a dog pressing up against my leg. I looked down and saw a very skinny Rottie called Anna. Sylvia said she was a special girl, always smiling and she will right. We went out for a walk and my heart was lost. We came back the day after Boxing Day to collect her and renamed her Ruby. What joy she bought into our lives. A beautiful girl who gave us almost 8 years of happiness. Stoic, brave and loving to the very end. I feel so very lucky to have had her. I will miss you so much Ruby. Run free at rainbow bridge

ANNIE (WAS BRITANY) ADOPTED 17 MAY 2014 DIED 9 JULY 2017 AGED BETWEEN 10 AND 11. Annie was the sweetest Cavalier you would ever be likely to meet. We adopted her on 17th May 2014 she having been fostered with Tony Denness. She was said to be between 7 and 8 when she came to us. She was very reserved and after only a day or two with us decided that where she wanted to be was in the big bed by the radiator, in the kitchen. She needed a bolt hole - somewhere she could feel safe and in control of her surroundings. She did spend time in all parts of the house and garden but her special place was her bed in the kitchen. She was also the most serene dog we have ever had. The pictures show her in her favourite bed and on the sofa at her house in France.
Her 3 canine companions at the time were Millie, a black working cocker spaniel, who we got when she was just 13 weeks old and who became the great mentor dog, Bonnie, a blue roan show cocker who was our first Many Tears Dog and who was fostered by Shona and Mark Beaver and Lottie an extremely elderly shih-tzu aged 17 at the time and who took on a whole new lease of life after Annie arrived. Very sadly Lottie died on 28 April 2015 aged 18 1/2 and Bonnie on 12th July 2016 aged 12. The 3 spaniels were such good friends and really enjoyed being with each other as well as, of course, with their mum and dad! Lottie, being a shih-tzu more or less graciously allowed them to share some of her space!
Annie was diagnosed with heart problems only a year or so after she came to us. Having had cavaliers before, we were aware of their vulnerability to heart problems and had experienced it with both of our previous cavvies. Before long she was prescribed diuretics and vetmedin and this seemed to work very well for her. She enjoyed her walks and her food (she WAS a cavalier!) and, most importantly, her bed! She loved going to France, although she only managed to do this twice as we couldn’t go while Lottie was so old and frail. She also enjoyed being loved by everybody as she was a big favourite of friends and relatives when they came to the house.
Following the sad loss of Bonnie, at the end of August 2016 another MT dog, Mimi, another shih-tzu then aged nearly 4 came to live with us having been fostered by Anne and Rob Taylor. Mimi certainly rousted up the household! She particularly loved Annie and they became great friends. Sadly, at the beginning of October 2016, Annie went into heart failure and began retaining fluid in alarming amounts. Various combinations of diuretics failed to stem this and our vets decided that all that could be offered was to drain her from time to time which they said they would only do as long as Annie would tolerate it. This she did quite happily and she came back from each session in high spirits and with great energy. We knew this was a short term fix but she responded well and had a good quality of life for several months so it was worth doing.
Of course, this could not go on forever and on 9th July we finally had to say goodbye and her ashes now sit on the dresser just above her favourite bed where she can see all that goes on. The fact that we received a card from our vets signed by everyone in the practice shows just how much she was loved as, of course, she became very well known to everyone there. We are devastated that we only had her for just over 3 years and it has taken all this time for us to be able to write this for Rainbow Bridge.

MILLIE - 4 JULY 2005 - 22 JULY 2017
Millie was not a Many Tears dog as we got her as a 13 week old puppy. We take the liberty of adding her to this tribute to Annie because our grief was all the greater as she passed away only a few days after we lost Annie. Millie also had a great effect on our MT girls, especially Bonnie and Annie as she was a natural mentor and helped them understand life in our house. Even after a long time here, if Bonnie or Annie were in an unfamiliar situation, all they did was to see what Millie did and then follow her example and they found that she was always right!
Millie was very ill in July 2016 and again in October. (2016 and 2017 have been pretty horrible years for us). On both occasions she went to the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket where she was eventually diagnosed with thrombo cytopaenia which is a disease of the immune system. The vets there said that she would make a full recovery which she very spectacularly did, as the pheasants around here would be quick to testify!
However only a few days after losing Annie, Millie became suddenly very ill again and was admitted as an emergency once again to the AHT. This time there was to be no happy ending. She had lymphoma with secondaries in the liver and spleen and died on 22nd July. She was a great example of the mentor dog that MT is always keen to see in a new home for rescue dogs and we hope she can take her place on Rainbow Bridge with her friends Bonnie and Annie. She really deserves to be there.
The first picture is the one we sent to Shona just before we adopted Bonnie so she could see what a mad house Bonnie was coming to! The second is the 3 spaniels sprawled on their French sofa. We miss them so very much.

We adopted Annie (Rabbit) from MTAR on December 6th 2008. My daughter and I drove from Oxford to collect her. I was shocked to see how small and sad and smelly she was. It nearly broke my heart. She was diagnosed with a "substantial" heart murmur by my vet which was upsetting as she was only about 3-4 years old. Despite this she lived almost 9 years of pretty healthy life. I hope we gave her a happy life, she never did learn to play or trust strangers but she loved her freedom, food and walks and never wanted for anything. Annie was helped on her way to rainbow bridge this morning (14/10/17) as she was in heart failure and was struggling. I am glad she had a long peaceful retirement with us. Sleep well sweet girl xxx Love you xxx

We adopted Gracie from MT in 2009, when she was 5, as a companion for our yellow Labrador Woody. She had endless energy, took no notice of anybody, barked continually in the back of the car and was a bin raider and counter surfer (stealing and munching her way through a pile of raw burgers and sausages ready to put on the bbq on one memorable occasion and having no after effects whatsoever!). For some time she responded to the name Ratbag! However, over time she calmed down and had the sweetest temperament and we never ever heard her growl over anything. She even made it onto the MT calendar last year! Her most important role over the last 4 years has been teaching our 2 MT ex-breeding Cockers Lottie (was Jelly) and Freckle (was Oreo) how to be normal dogs and she has been such a kind, gentle girl in showing them the ropes. They have learned all the important doggy things to do – eating cow pats, rolling in dead animals and fox poo, finding and eat cat poo in the garden, picking blackberries, cleaning the kitchen floor and being conveniently deaf, but also learning how to play, chase a ball, swim, be happy and have fun. They wouldn’t be the lovely well-adjusted girls they are if it wasn’t for Gracie. She had suffered from worsening arthritis over the last few years and, although she had been on tablets for a long time, over the past two weeks had not wanted to eat unless her food was softened – the vet wondered if she had got arthritis in her jaw as he could find nothing wrong with her teeth or mouth. She was finding it increasingly difficult to get around as her legs just wouldn’t work properly and so after much deliberation we made the heart-breaking decision for her to take her final trip to the vet. She had got to the grand age of 13½ which we thought she would never reach. We are very sad but know we made the right decision. We have been waiting for the Cocker girls to miss her but they seem to have accepted that she isn’t here. I suppose this is the last thing that Gracie has done for them – shown that they can cope without her and that she did a grand job. We miss you sweet girl.
David, Sue, Lottie and Freckle Howell-Griffith

Hello. I did contact you in August to tell you of the passing of my dear sweet Holly, adopted from MT 6yrs ago along with her kennel mate Hope. With her health failing I adopted little Harry only 2 weeks before. From the terrified abused little Cavalier, she turned into the sweetest, kindest little girl. Loving nothing more than a cuddle, or squeezing up close to her pal Hope, an older Cavvi adopted at same time. I miss her terribly. She has been my friend for 6yrs. Never nasty, putting up with the various treatments she had to endure. When her legs began to fail, I bought a dog buggy for her. She loved it !!! Sitting there looking so beautiful and regal, enjoying walks along the river with Hope trotting along beside her. Even at the end her lovely nature shone through. Please include her in the Rainbow Bridge. Thankyou Dreane Williams

Norah Jones adopted 2010
It is with great sadness that we had to say Good Bye to our lovelly girl. She was the most loyal grateful and loving girl we have ever had. When we adopted her she was 4yrs and some months we were told. It was the coldest evening - when she (my first and last) foster dog arrived and she was very sad. You guessed she became our adopted girl because we couldn't bare to part with her. We have had 8 wonderful years, lots of holidays and happy times ,she was always loving happy pottering about , she loved her walks and our two standard poodles were her loved big brothers.Sadly she developed 4 massive inoperable tumors . Anyone who thinks of adopting a Pug Cross should know she was wonderful, full of character fun ,loyalty and joy.
Good girl Nora you did us proud.
Xxxxxxxx

Sadly on Monday 18th 2017 we said goodbye to our Cammi. A beautiful, nervous, quirky girl who loved her family so so much and was loved equally in return. She had Lymphoma and fought to the bitter end, giving us five more months than expected, we love you Cammi Wammi, run free beautiful girl



 

Dear Many Tears
Just to let you know that we lost our beloved Lucie on Monday 3rd July who we adopted from you June 2012. She became very unwell in December and we have battled with her to pull her through, and she was so sweet and kept her dignity, before her own body was just destroying itself. Both us and the vet did everything, but we just not get her to recover.
The pain is so great, we are just heart broken. But we gave her 5 fantastic years of love, happiness and everything she wanted. Her favourite was playing on the beach and swimming in the sea. We will miss her terribly, and so will her 2 Many Tears Friends, Barney Rubble who we got from you about 6 years ago and Cherry (Bakewell) who we got Feb 2016. ~
We would like you to put Lucie on your Rainbow Bridge list, as we know that she is there waiting for us, so we can be together again.
RIP my sweet Lucie, miss and love you lots X
Best wishes Margaret Nesbitt

Sad news today my lovely little Yorkie Jaffa was put to sleep.We adopted him on 22nd May 2009 and he has been the nicest dog we've ever known.He suffered for a long time with pulmonary fibrosis and started fitting on Saturday and he's had 3 fits in the last 3 days.We suspected it was a brain tumour and couldn't let him suffer any more. There will never be another like him and thank you for saving him and letting us love him. Patricia and Ian Rae.

I adopted Bella from you in December 2008. She was the best dog you ever did meet, took everything in her stride, loved life, loved sunbathing, loved eating, loved sleeping on the sofa, loved her brother & sister (Suki the Akita & Mario the GSD also Many Tears dog) and had more cuddles & love than you can imagine.
Unfortunately we had to say a devastating goodbye to Bella aged 13 on Thursday, her little body couldn't take much more.
I loved this dog more than life itself & I thank you for my time with her. You do such good work.
I know many Many Tears pooches living their lives having a wonderful life, I hope this for the many more you have in kennels.
Thank you again
Nikki Roberts

 

  
I write this for Wicker, a small westie who came to Many Tears from a breeder. She had never known love and was fearful of humans. She touched the hearts of all the staff. When spayed it was apparent she had internal problems, and after being opened twice and a week of intensive care, yesterday we decided to end any further suffering as we could no longer win to save her life. This little dog was a lost soul, one who had known no happiness, one who was just learning to trust, one who deserved more. Wicker, you have taken a piece of our hearts, we are so sorry we could not help you to live a normal happy life.
Sylvia

 
Lottie (formerly Diamond) came to us at Easter in 2013 as a poor unkempt weak little girl who showed clear signs of the neglect she’d experienced. She settled in very quickly and in no time had gained the affection of everyone we knew (including non-dog lovers!) as they recognized immediately upon meeting her what a gentle soul she was.
She had learnt to be self-sufficient and totally ignored everyone and everything except us, who she quickly trusted, presumably because we’d given her a home. She LOVED her food, of course and this was the main focus throughout her time with us. She would greet us every morning with cuddles and turbo-charged tail-stump, letting out little sighs of comfort.
She never really understood the concept of walking (why would she when she’d never been for one!) but being determined to follow us wherever we went necessitated a lot of walking, including an annual trip to the Lake `District with some pretty high peaks being scaled.
At the end of 2014, she developed symptoms of disorientation, which investigation in the following spring resulted in her eardrums being perforated by the referral vet, which rendered her deaf and they didn’t even find the problem!
In May 2015 she nearly died (after a dose of meloxicam) and the young vet at the out-of-hours service kept her going through the night and very cleverly diagnosed hepatic encephalopathy, which fitted her previous symptoms perfectly. Her liver couldn’t process proteins or toxins and the next morning they recommended she be put to sleep, being in end-stage liver failure. When I went to sit with her a few hours later while awaiting the dreaded deed, I got a chewstick out of my pocket, which she pounced on, as if to say, ‘This is such a rubbish caff - I’ve been here 10 hours and they’ve given me nothing to eat!’ She got up, walked around, went outside to wee and the vet said she couldn’t go ahead with the euthanasia in the circumstances and everyone who’d seen her all day couldn’t believe their eyes! We said of course we’d take her home and nurse her.
That was over TWO YEARS AGO! Had she left us then she would have been denied the best time of her life as the following year she blossomed on her protein-free diet and regular small meals (being fed 5 times a day was paradise!) It took over our life as it became increasingly difficult to take her away with us or leave her with someone else but everyone said she was ‘living on love’ and we believe that. Although she slowed down onwards the end and gave us a number of false alarms when she wouldn’t eat for a week and then suddenly start again, we knew when the right time had come to say goodbye to her (15.06.2017).
It seemed she would go on forever but in the end her little body couldn’t satisfy her enduring spirit which will be with us for ever! She WAS an amazing little dog who made an impression on everyone she met and succeeded in defying all the worst prognoses.
In December 2016, we rescued another spaniel (Georgie) and although Lottie didn’t really acknowledge her, she showed her the way, kept her calm whenever we went out and let her sleep beside her in her bed. On Lottie’s last day, Georgie lay alongside her in her bed as if to comfort her. We miss her dearly. 

It is with a really heartbroken heart I wanted to let you know that Buster (Orson when we adopted him from Many Tears) has passed to rainbow bridge on Tuesday night.
We adopted Buster when he was 10 weeks old back in January 2008, when him, his brothers and sisters plus parents were given to many tears. Buster had a tough life from a health view, having ringworm when he was born, then developing epilepsy when he was 18 months old. This did not stop him being the most stubborn headed, defiant dog we had ever met (& our friends and family), with the biggest most loving personality you could have ever wanted.
Buster has given us years of love, happiness, fun and joy and we were so blessed to have him in our lives.
Buster became ill 3 weeks ago, and we discovered last Friday he had a large tumour which was effecting his gut and nothing could be done. After spending the weekend with him we knew it was time to say goodbye. I lay with him on the floor, cuddling him and giving him as much love as he always had until the end.
Thank you Many Tears for rescuing our boy and allowing us to have him as a huge part of our family and hearts forever.
Best wishes Cara

Angel was an ex breeding dog who we re-homed when she was three years of age. She was nervous and didn't trust any humans, however, as soon as my mother found her they were inseparable. Angel clinged to my mother and wouldn't let her go, and she never let go till the day the angels reclaimed her. We never knew true friendship until we met you.
Angel was a beautiful dog with a beautiful heart, with our love making her stronger every day. She eventually began to trust again, with walks on the beach being her favorite activity along with barking at the cat from Coronation Street.
She was truly the best companion any one could ask for, with her devoted stare and constant undying love. I'm so glad that her last ten years was filled with laughter, happiness and love which every pet deserves. Her memory will be with us always as she left a deep paw print on all of our hearts.
We love you Angel, may you rest in peace and I can't wait for us to meet again. You truly were our most favorite hello, and our hardest goodbye. Although we filled your life with love and devotion, nothing compares to what you gave to us. Sleep tight my little Angel

With deepest regret and sadness, we said goodbye to our beautiful gentle sweet Doogie (was Ian) at 2.15pm, 8^th May 2017.
We had the absolute pleasure of having Doogie in our lives from July 2011 until Rainbow Bridge called. He came to us aged 7 years, an abused ex breeding Cocker Spaniel, clipped due to sores & matting, underweight and scared of the outside world.  He overcame most hurdles from having to carry him on walks as he was afraid, to him walking along side us and after a time, going off investigating with his MT adopted brother Marley. They both came on all UK holidays  and went to work each day with their dad. He as with Marley had so many fusses and cuddles with anyone who came to the shop and I think they both have made up for all the cuddles missed until they came to Many Tears.
He didn’t want much from life, a ball to play with, a bed, being fed with a treat here and there, plus a game of chase around the house. He loved his ears and tummy being rubbed and the result was a mad five minutes which was so wonderful to see. He didn’t have a bad bone and the only way you knew he wasn’t happy to start with was a little grumble sound (not a growl). This “grumble” turned into a sigh of happiness and it was a warming noise you heard around the house that he was feeling content and finally happy. A noise we miss every day.
The photo on the beach was him in Whitby in March , full of life and playing ball. At Easter, the vet thought he had a cold bug, but before the first May bank holiday he wasn’t any better and running a high temperature. Tests  concluded it was an aggressive round cell liver tumour. We decided not to operate or have Chemo as he had been through enough in his life and there were no guarantees  he would survive due to his age. Steroid injections that last 48 hours would be the next step and in some cases, gave quality of life for years, but after having his first injection on the Saturday he seemed to be nearly back to his old self for a short while, to early Sunday  where he went downhill so quickly and evident we were losing him.  Can’t believe we has gone.
Our handsome, gentle boy gained a lot of nicknames from Mr Whoo Whoo, Womble (due to his very thick, multi grey coat) to Mr Sandman, as he loved me singing this to him (badly, but he never judged…). But overall he was our world and we miss him so much.
Thank you to all at Many Tears for giving this special boy to us and all you do for others. To Julie and Ian for fostering him until we came along.

For Doogie
“If we had our lives again, we would have found you sooner so we could have loved you longer”
Always in our hearts until we meet again at Rainbow bridge.
Please send a dream.
Yours forever and a day.
Mum, Dad, Nan and Marley
Xxxxxxxx”

It's with great sadness that I write to tell you that our beloved cocker Archie who we adopted from you in October 2012, died on 27/3/17. He was ill for 2 days with what we now know was massive liver failure and although he showed no signs of being in pain, there was nothing the vet could do for him. We were heartbroken but knew we had to let him go peacefully.

I want to thank everyone at Many Tears and his wonderful foster Mum Diana for giving Archie a chance at life, and for allowing us to fill that life with love and happiness which he repaid a million times over.

We miss him so much but he'll always be with us
Goodnight my little man
Linda & Eddie Edwards
 

BEN

Dear Sylvia and Bill

Sadly our Parson Jack Russell called Ben had to be put to sleep last evening the 16^th February.

We adopted him from you in October 2008 and, before we moved away, he often stayed with you in kennels.

Bill may remember that he barked almost constantly in kennels and ended up very hoarse. (Ben that is; not Bill)

We believe that he was 15 years old this year and in recent months his back legs were troubling him. Nevertheless there were times when, spotting another dog across the field, he would race away to greet them.

He loved his home life here with Poppy, a dog also adopted from you.
He was very definitely a ladies man and followed my wife everywhere; only transferring his affections if one of our daughters visited.
Always on the scrounge, he loved his food and any treats that we offered.
We had been expecting this for some time now but, the sudden onset of his final symptoms left him unable to walk at all and, he was clearly very distressed.
Suddenly the house seems very empty even though we still have our lovely Poppy girl.
Thank you Sylvia and Bill for allowing us to share part of our lives with Ben.
They say that time heals……. I really do hope so.

I just thought it prudent to inform you that we sadly lost Max just before Christmas. It was detected that he had a heart murmur which was quite pronounced when the vet picked it up. After a period of time on medication he started to collapse and struggle to get oxygen around his system (the onset of heart failure).
As we always do with our animals, rescue them like you to relieve them of suffering. We always vowed that he wouldn’t suffer so had to make the very difficult decision to let him go.
We would just like to say thank you for letting us rescue Max and giving us the chance to enjoy him for the 6 years we had him. He went to work with me, Scouts, Days out, Nanny and grampies, Seaside, just about anywhere. He was well loved and very much a very lucky boy, he will be sorely missed but with us forever as he is buried in our garden.
Thank you again for the chance to have Max and after a period of time we will get another dog as the house is empty without him.
Kind Regards
Andy, Nicky and Josh Stagg

We are sadly mourning the loss of our beloved Cavvie, Toby (previously known as Jason while in foster at Many Tears), who we adopted from you 5 years ago.  Toby was an ex stud dog and was terribly afraid of people when he came to Many Tears and had no idea about walking on a lead.  One of your lovely foster carers, Jo, looked after him wonderfully for 6 months until the right home could be found.  Unusually for an ex breeder, Toby took no comfort from being in the company of other dogs, so it was agreed he could come to us as an only dog.
The first few weeks with Toby were quite traumatic for both Toby and us.  Somehow he escaped from our very secure back garden on the first day and he refused to eat or drink anything until day 4 - such was the fear he had for strangers.  However, with much love and patience, he blossomed into the most wonderful companion for us and our 3 cats, returning our love in abundance and finally learning to trust some, if not all humans.  Whenever we had visitors, he would always look to me for re-assurance, then relax when I told him that everything was ok.
He was the most beautiful, gentle little soul and the sadness we feel at his passing, after several months battling cancer, is beyond words.  He passed peacefully at home in his cosy bed with his head resting in my hands.
We want to thank you for the incredible work you do day in, day out, for thousands of dogs just like Toby.  Without you, Toby wouldn't have had a safe haven to go to, we wouldn't have known the joy of having him in our lives and our beautiful, loyal, furry friends would have no-one to turn to in their time of need.  Please could you also extend a special thank you to Jo, for the love and care she showed Toby in those first few months and the invaluable support she gave us.
Attached are 2 of the many lovely photos we have of our little Tobes.  The first one shows Toby with one of his sister's, Cookie and the 2nd is of Toby in his all time favourite place, snoring away on his sofa!
Sweet dreams little Tobes, we will always love you more than you could know.
All our love, Mummy, daddy, Cookie, Truffle and Black cat xxxxx

I attach a photo of Inkie (in front) with Molly taken in September last year after a lovely walk in the sunshine.  This is one of my happiest memories of Inkie as sadly she had to be put to sleep on 19^th December.  She had had a mammary tumour removed last summer and appeared to recover very well but never quite regained her former health and slept a great deal of the time.  She came to life on her walks though and on her last day came running back to the car full of life just as normal.  During the evening she suffered several fits and by the time we took her to the emergency vets in Bath there was nothing to be done.
She came to us from her foster home, a very traumatised little dog with a grade 3 heart murmur and we did not expect to have her as long as the 5½ years she enjoyed.  She blossomed into a happy and loving little dog with the guidance of our old collie, Billy, who showed her the ropes.  When he died two years ago we adopted Molly from Many Tears and they became very close and always kept close together when out in the fields or woods.
We miss her terribly and Molly still looks for her but it is good to realise that she had those happy carefree years after such a poor start and we keep that thought in mind when we feel sad.  We would in the near future very much like to adopt a companion for Molly as she is a gentle and friendly little Cavalier who would like a similar friend to cuddle up with.
THANK YOU FOR OUR TIME WITH INKIE
Rosina and John Lee

So very saddened to be writing these words;  our lovely ex-breeding cavalier Lleucu (formerly Haribo/Penny) whom we adopted from you on 6^th October 2011, passed away  in the early hours of Sunday 13^th November 2016.
Lleucu was six when she came to us, having been so caringly fostered by Cheryl and Noel,  but was still a very nervous little being. She grew in confidence and although she never really grasped the concept  of play, she was a wonderful, loyal companion who so enjoyed her daily walks when she would socialise with her  friends, in the park or on the beach. She was diagnosed some years ago with mitral valve disease, for which she received medication,  but had enjoyed an active life up to a few weeks before she crossed Rainbow Bridge.
Thank you Sylvia and all at Many Tears for rescuing and  giving us the opportunity to adopt our precious little Lleucu.
We are so grateful for all the love and devotion you showed us, Little Girl, and will cherish the memory of the five wonderful years we had together, which passed far too quickly.
Until we meet again
Mummy, Peter, Bobby and Girls

With a heavy heart I write to tell you that Tilly (was Flake) my last remaining MT girl was put to sleep yesterday after lots of fits during the past two days. What a journey we have had over the last four years. To say she was terrified of life on the outside was an understatement and a homeopathic vet we visited in the early days said that she was the most abused dog he had seen in all his 25 years as a vet. We also tried the behaviourist who actually gave up after six weeks saying she just didn't know how to help. She just about coped while I had my other two girls but it took two full years for her to accept a lead for a road walk but once she got the hang of it she walked like a dream. She hated the car and often preferred to stay at home but it was her choice and she quickly learned which words meant a nice walk with no lead if we were going somewhere safe where she wouldn't meet humans. She hated white vans, men, hoodies and bobble hats even on the kindest of people. Poor Tilly never chased a ball, played with a toy or played with my other dogs except to mount the smaller one. She was completely passive and would cower and hide if another dog approached her, she never gently growled at boisterous puppies as my other two exbreeders did. After six years in kennels, either tied up and/or being beaten (she always flinched when you touched her flank) she never really coped outside. She was the sweetest, most loving little thing in the safety of our home but after my last dog died in August she seemed to go into a decline. I can now see that she was showing early signs of a brain problem for some time but these worsened until she was having one on top of another and it was decided that rather than prolong her sad little life with tablets it was kinder to let her go to sleep at nearly eleven. She is at peace now probably for the first time in her life (except when she was snoring to raise the rafters!) but she has left a huge hole in my life having been so dependent on me for so long. Sleep well my darling.
Thank you once again for looking after these lovely little dogs and making adoption possible. I will be back when I have recovered from losing all three in one year at ages 9,10 and 11.
With best wishes, Jean x

It is so hard to write and to accept that my most beautiful of girls, Martha (originally Marsha) has left us. A dogue de Bordeaux cross, she was the most enormous presence in our home in every way. She had been at MTR for months, it seemed that nobody wanted to take a chance with this great big slobbery girl. But from the very second that she joined us she immediately bonded, cemented her place in our household and never put one of those (very big) feet wrong. She was an angel from day one. When we picked her up (weighing about a stone less than when she settled in at home with us) we stopped en route in Cardiff at my sister’s house. I had a cup of tea which I put down on the floor. Martha immediately drank it! She was always keen on food and drink(!) but had the most impeccable manners. She was the most gentle dog there ever was, my children who were born three years later learned to stand by pulling themselves up on her big orange body. They are seven now and have spent many happy hours cuddled up to Martha, they really miss her. For me, I can’t really believe that she has gone.
She was always to be found lying in front of a fire, or where we were in the house. She came on many many holidays and adventures with us. She never showed the slightest touch of aggression (even when my poor old grandma fell on top of her with all her body weight!!!! She just looked at her, a bit surprised) and it would be fair to say has had the most incredible ten years with us. She welcomed all other pets into our house, (I have some hilarious pictures of our ten week old kitten cuddled up to Martha’s big head) and all people.
There will truly never be another dog like her but I feel very privileged to have had her in my life.  If you are thinking of taking a chance with a big dog in rescue, take it. They are the most wonderful of companions, and all dogs, even big slobbery ones deserve the chance to have their own big comfy bed in front of the fire.
Thank you Martha (nee Marsha) for those wonderful years.
We will never forget you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So hard to write the words to tell you about my beautiful angel Abbey who we had to say goodbye to on the 11^thOctober 2016.
She came into our lives in May 2012 when we went to Oxford to adopt her. Her fosterer had named her Abbey (originally ‘Eckle’).
Abbey was a pretty shut-down little girl to begin with, almost afraid of everything. It took around a month to get her to walk outside in the garden - she would take a step or two then shrink with fear but with time and patience she was walking, mainly by the wall or fence.
Bobbie (my other west highland terrier recue dog) won her over and she followed him everywhere - so wonderful to see how much she trusted him. She was such a shy little girl but slowly came out of her shell. She gained confidence with time and really enjoyed her walks, sadly she never played with toys and she never ever barked. She loved her food very much but was very wary of strangers, she seemed to have missed out on so much in her younger life and you could often see the sadness in her eyes.
Abbey was born with 4 flat paws so she could only walk on grass or on a sandy beach as hard surfaces would cause ulcers so every time she went out they had to be cleaned with medic pads from the vet, she was so incredibly tolerant with this and so brave.
Bobbie sadly died in January 2016, he was nearly 14 years old, it was heart-breaking and so sudden although I'm sure Abbey knew he was ill. 2 days later she was poorly and wouldn’t eat, she missed him so very much we thought it was grief over him. She didn’t improve the following week so the vet did blood tests and the results were not good - her sugar levels were up and down indicating diabetes but a scan for renal failure couldn’t find anything wrong. Abbey would eat sometimes but when she couldn’t she was syringe fed and was so good, never any resistance with it.
She was referred to a consultant and was diagnosed with amyloidosis - a tumour in the kidney which is quite rare and sadly inoperable. She wasn’t in renal failure but was on medication, I really  thought it was time to go over the rainbow bridge in March but the vet said her time hadn’t come yet. We went to Surrey to adopt Hal (now ‘Robbie’) a lovely little boy west highland terrier who hadn’t had a good life either. Having a new friend raised Abbie’s spirits - they hit it off so wonderfully, they seemed to totally understand each others needs.
In June we went to Cornwall on holiday (it was hard to believe Abbie was still with us!). She went running on the beach and walking in the park every morning and evening with Robbie. They had a great time together and she was so happy she ate her food every day, a magical time.
On the 9^th October Abbey went into emergency care, she was poorly and we thought she had an upset tummy. On the 11^th October I took her back to the vet as she hadn’t picked-up at all, she was just very flat. They did an X-ray and it revealed she had another tumour by her bladder, I knew it was time for her to go and the vet agreed with me, I held her in my arms and saw her beautiful eyes close for the last time. She had defied all the odds and lived many months later than predicted.
We so loved this little angel and I miss her with all my heart. She was so very unique but finally she went over the rainbow bridge and is with her best friend Bobbie now.
Run free little angel, in our hearts forever.

Love Mum, Robbie, Holly (was Oliva) & Graham.

 
It is with immense sadness, that we need to tell you, that we have had to say our final farewells to our adorable little girl, Cassie. During the night she had a cluster of seizures, which did not stop. The six and a half years we have shared our life with her, and she with us. have been the best ever, and life without our little canine daughter will never be the same again. Thank you so much for rescuing her, she was a little angel through and through. We are both heartbroken but she will remain forever tucked away in our hearts.
Tom and Beverley Hartnell

In 2010 we adopted an ex-breeding Cairn Terrier from Many Tears. Her original name was Dolcie – but we changed this to Daisy as we already had another Cairn bitch called Vita – and two dogs called Dolcie and Vita would have been too much.
She was thought to be around five years old when we adopted her and was thought to have had four or five litters. She had previously had a hernia and problems with her right ear – either through  apast infection or a wound. She also was diagnosed with Perthes disease after adoption which necessitated surgery to remove most of the left hip joint. Despite this, she was the most loveable, valiant and biddable dog we have ever had. Despite the physical issues she coped with daily walks of two to three miles with ease and gave us so much pleasure over the years.
Very recently we have taken the decision for euthanasia because of the discovery of very advanced liver cirrhosis which failed to respond to treatment.  Why are we writing this – well, it is sort of cathartic for us – but we also wanted all to know the joys that rescue dogs with problem pasts can bring. We have attached two photos of Daisy – the first one from the day we collected her from Weston-Super-Mare and the second after we’d had her for a few years.
Many thanks for the adoption opportunity and best wishes for the work Many Tears undertake. I’m sure there are hundreds of stories like Daisy’s.
Jennie and George Terry

 
I regret to say our Westie Ivy who was called Radiant when we adopted her about 4 years ago had to be put to sleep on sunday Sept 11th, she had developed Westie lung and we tried to make her days as comfortable for her as possible but in the end we had to make the painful decision to put her to sleep as her medication was just not working anymore.
We loved her so dearly and our years together were amazing, she was very spoilt and slept on the bottom of our bed. We still have our 6 year old boy Archie who she loved very much and we are all grieving together.
Next year we will be in touch to adopt from you again as we know there are so many dogs that need homes but we want to thank you for bringing her into our lives as she will never be forgotten.
Love from
Lee and Jess Walker

Two years and nine months ago we saw Liam on the Many Tears Rescue website and we knew that he was a very special boy, who was going to melt our hearts. His floppy ear gave him such an appealing look that we immediately wanted bring him home and look after him. After all the checks we were given permission to bring him from Gloucester to his new home and once he had settled in he became a second shadow to his new mum. Wherever she went Liam followed and his greatest pleasure was to snuggle up to her in the evening and rest his head on the lap top computer. He was a home loving dog, content to snooze and potter in the garden – show him the lead and he suddenly found he needed a rest – and he never understood our other Westie’s eagerness to be out and about! He was kind, gentle and loving and a very special boy. Some weeks ago he developed a cough, which came and went, but last week it went worse and worse and he struggled for breath. Last Sunday we knew that he could not struggle any longer and we had to ask the vet to put him to sleep. He was loved more than words can say, especially by his mum, and they had a very special bond. He was her shadow and her baby. May he rest in peace and enjoy the riches of heaven he so deserves.

I am writing to tell you that Tilly on the right and I are both very sad as we had to say goodbye to Poppy, on the left, on Thursday last week (25.08.2016).
Pops (called Eccles) bounced into my life at Many Tears in November 2011 and has been full of love and mischief ever since. Last year at her annual check she was discovered to have a heart murmur for the first time but it has hardly bothered her and she didn't require medication. When the very hot weather started this summer she started to slow down and was not playing with her toys quite so much but only needed to start treatment a week before she died of sudden and very rapidly progressing heart failure. She is my second MT dog to die this year so feeling very raw at the moment but can only be thankful that she didn't suffer for long and remained a happy, cheeky little thing until,the breathlessness became too much and she was put peacefully to sleep.
Tilly (MT number 3) is a very frightened dog but is coping very well without her little friend on whom she relied very heavily.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to adopt these lovely little dogs.
Best wishes Jean and Tilly. xx

BELLA (was Abbey Labrador)
Adopted 2008   Died 2016  .Age 13 yrs,

It is with great sadness that our beautiful girl Bella lost her fight for life on 10th Aug 2016 after bravely fighting multiple health problems for some months.
She was the kindest most loving girl,she laughed with us cried with us. She made herself" Nanny and Carer" to all the famil.
She was an ex-breeding bitch who had memories of her past life but never held a grudge and turned out to be a much loved girl and member of our family.

From the Sowka and Morris Family.


 

 
Dear Kingsley,
We had only adopted you just over 3 months previously. You were a beautiful boy, so loving and happy, and it seemed hard to believe you came from a puppy farm as you weren’t scarred by your past. However when we adopted you, we knew you had a Grade 6 heart murmur, and to look at you happily running around outside in the garden with your canine friends, it was hard to believe you were ill. You loved your food and thought all your heart medication was tasty dog treats! From the moment we brought you to your forever home, it was like you’d lived here for years – you were confident, and soon established which was your place on the settee, and you adored cuddles.
That fateful morning when you woke us just after 4am, we thought you wanted a cuddle but you wouldn’t settle to get back to sleep. A few hours later you were sick....and knowing you weren’t well, we took you to the vets who decided to hospitalise you for a couple of days. However the vet rang that afternoon saying your heart had failed and there was no hope of recovery for you. We were with you whilst you slipped away.
Your forever home sadly wasn’t for very long Kings, but we loved you dearly and don’t regret for a minute adopting you even though you had a health condition and our time together was short. I really wanted you to have this Christmas with us, your first Christmas in a home, but sadly it wasn’t to be. You brought us so much love and we were heartbroken when we lost you after such a short time, in fact we still are. Your photograph sits on the mantelpiece as you keep watch over us, and we remember happy times with you as you were such a special boy. Offering you your forever home was one of the best things we have ever done and we will always be grateful to Many Tears for letting us adopt you even though our time together was cut short.
Lots of love always
Fiona, Logan, Glenn and Brooke
...and Poppy, Bobby, Ruby and Charlie (your canine friends who still miss you) XXXX

It is with sad hearts that we are contacting you to inform you of the passing of our beloved Seren.
We adopted Seren (formerly She She) from Many Tears fosterer Margaret in Bournemouth in April 2013.  She was a very scared ex breeding dog who had been introduced to a different loving and caring world in her few weeks with Margaret where she was house trained and started walking on a lead.  We said to Margaret that we liked the darker brown fur on her paws only to be told this was from standing in urine from where she came from and will grow out.  We were as innocent about the world of breeding as Seren was of being a loved companion dog.
We brought her home to Southampton and Hattie (our Affenpinscher) took her under her paw and helped her become a companion dog.  Seren quickly learnt not to fear going through doors, that she could get water when ever she wanted it from the water bowls and car doors closing and passing traffic were part of walks to the park and not a threat.
Seren was an exceptionally gentle dog and took great delight in meeting other dogs and their companions.  Through meeting Seren many people became aware of the dark world of she came from and the excellent rescue work of Many Tears.
Seren was taken ill in February with pancreas problems which, with the help of her vets, she recovered from.  While we were on holiday in Scotland the problems reoccurred with complications and on 13^th June we made the heart breaking decision to let Seren pass over the Rainbow Bridge.
If we gave Seren but a fraction of the love and pleasure she gave to us then she had a happy life in the far too short three and a bit years she was with us.
Sue, Steve and Hattie xxx

BONNIE  - PREVIOUSLY RIPPLE
JOINED US ON 14TH NOVEMBER 2010 - DIED ON TUESDAY 12TH JULY 2016
Bonnie joined our family on 14th November 2010 aged about 6. She had been used for breeding and was described on the website as “a worried little girl who has known few of the good things in life”. When we met her she was in foster care with Mark and Shona where she had formed a strong attachment to Mark. After a few weeks she decided that my husband would be acceptable instead and she became his faithful shadow until her sad death on 12th July 2016. She could no longer fight liver cancer.
Bonnie was indeed a worried little girl at first. She took refuge in her crate and visitors would peep in to see her trying to hide up in the back of it. How things changed! She became very much centre stage. Bonnie proved to be a great character. She was ring leader of the barking and a dedicated guardian of her garden, both here and in her holiday house in South west France. We will never forget her seeing off the very large Korthals Wire Haired Pointing Griffin, the gorgeous Thieroux, who lived next door in France and who liked to jump the wall into our garden. The first time he did it she watched us telling him to go home. The second time he came in she saw him off in no uncertain terms despite being a small cocker spaniel! He never tried to come in again! Her message had obviously been very clear despite the size and language difference.
When we collected Bonnie, Shona told us she needed “cuddles ++”. In due course that proved to be true. She would spend hours dozing with my husband. They really had a very close bond. She had also fitted in well with the dog pack - Lottie, the Shih-Tzu and Millie the working Cocker who was very much her mentor. For the last 2 years of her life we also had Annie our lovely Cavalier, another Many Tears dog. For the last year she also had a Many Tears Collie next door here in England - he had come via FAITH in Norfolk.
Bonnie gave us so much joy and she has left a huge hole in our family and in our hearts. Thank you to everyone involved in her rescue and care in Wales and then to Mark and Shona who started her on the way to living in a house and being such an adorable pet.

Rescued by Many Tears: 15/03/12

On November 29th 2015, we lost you, Dougal, our beloved Bichon Frise, after a short battle with renal failure. We adopted you in July 2012 when you were supposedly 6, but our vet thought you were much older and about 9. You were our first rescue dog, and not only have you have left us with special memories of a wonderful friend who was so loved and adored, you left us with your legacy – for us to give more Many Tears dogs a loving home just like you had. Not only did you have a forever home – you now had a surname as you were part of our family and we loved you dearly.
You entered this world with nothing, Dougal, a dog who had probably never seen a vet otherwise you wouldn’t have had a cataract in your right eye when you were rescued. You touched the hearts of many and not only us, but our dogs Poppy, Bobby and Ruby, who became quite depressed when they lost you, their special friend. You were the Alpha Male in the pack, the wise one and the leader, and even though there was a definite age difference, you were the one they looked up to.
You became quite a celebrity at our vets because each time we went, you walked in and wagged your tail to greet all the staff, and in return they always wanted to fuss you as they were aware of your dreadful past life. When our vet admitted you to the vet hospital that Friday, he was on holiday the week after, but he called into the surgery specially, on the Monday, to find out how you were, only to find out you had passed away the previous day.  The vets practice even sent us a sympathy card when we lost you.
We had a special bond Dougal, and I look at your photo on our mantelpiece every day as you keep a watchful eye on the doggy friends you have left behind, and think of special times with you. We rescued one dog that day in July 2012, the dog we only had for 3 1/4 years, but to you, we gave you the world and you learned to give us so much love in return.  Finding about Many Tears purely by accident, and then seeing you on the website and offering you your forever home was one of the best things we have ever done and we will always be grateful to Many Tears for letting us adopt you.
Lots of love always
Fiona, Logan, Glenn and Brooke
...and Poppy, Bobby and Ruby (your canine friends who still miss you) XXXX

Dear Many Tears
I write with great sadness to inform you that my beautiful wee Cav, Judy, (formerly Sparrow), was put to sleep on Wednesday evening.  She was an old lady who, previously, had been used for breeding.  I rehomed her in August 2007.  She enjoyed a wonderful life and, latterly, still loved her food despite having no teeth!  She's crossed the Rainbow Bridge now and joins my Cav, Jilly (formerly Jolly at MTR), who crossed it in 2013. Judy is greatly missed but thank you for bringing us together - it's been a real pleasure having her in our lives. 
Best wishes to all
Anne Edmunds

It is with a saddened heart I am contacting you to inform you of the passing of our little girl.
We rescued Pepper (formerly Lears) from Many Tears in December 2007. She was a very scared ex breeding dog who clearly knew nothing of the world. We brought her home to Hertfordshire and it took her a year to really settle into normal life. And boy once she did she really appreciated her new life of walks, our other dogs friendship, good food, cuddles, the sunshine and lots of love.
And there life stayed the same for the next 9 years until last week when she suffered a little seizure at home. The vet said take her home and see how she goes. Unfortunately over the next few days she deteriorated quite rapidly. So With a heavy heart we made the decision for her to cross rainbow bridge.
We are so grateful for having her in our life and despite the bad isolated life she suffered in the first few years of her life the rest of it she was spoilt rotten and she got to live to be nearly 15 years old.
Run free Pepper you will be so missed X

 
To Everyone at Many Tears,
This was not the letter that I had been hoping to send to bring you up to date on Sali (previously known as Missy). We picked Sali up in April last year. She was excited and enthusiastic and weeing everywhere! The journey home to Cardiff was unforgettable - the smell in the car indescribable!
Having arrived home she could not be bathed for a week and couldn't go for a walk for another month, so,  during that time we got to know her and she got to know us, and the garden, well. She learned that frogs could be caught, mice could be chased and birds barked at at every opportunity. In return we discovered that she was feisty and funny and would nip us to let us know if she was not happy about something. She also had an aversion to any electronic beeps - the microwave, washing machine, dishwasher and sewing machine all sending her into periods of distressed barking. Our first walks were a nightmare, Sali growled and bit every dog we met. We quickly realised that we could have a problem dog on our hands.
On the good side she never disturbed us in the night and she loved going in the car, walking and being out, never pulling on the lead unless there was a squirrel in sight.
We worked hard with her and giving her a treat whenever she saw another dog, distracting her with food whenever we turned on the microwave etc meant that we now had a dog who turned and sat waiting for the treat if a dog appeared and just opening the microwave was enough to bring her to a sit by the kitchen door! She was highly motivated by food and was the only dog ever to get into the treat tin which was in the closed cupboard at the dog groomers!
She continued to nip and we were all wary when we played with her or groomed her. We felt much more confident with her after going to dog obedience where she was certainly almost top of the class! From this we became confident enough to let her off the lead and it was a joy to see her running along the beach or knee deep in dandelions. Within a year she had totally transformed herself and us.
She never ceased to amuse us - she never learnt that the sheep on Countyfile weren't behind the television or that the Westie she saw in the glass of the conservatory was her. She only ever had one toy that lasted more than 20 minutes, all the others were destroyed by the sharp teeth that we were so wary of.
Last week, having been on steroids for her skin she became unwell. A visit to the vets on Thursday led to blood tests and pain killers. We came home with her but during Friday she continued to deteriorate and on Saturday scans and x-rays told us the worst,  she had tumours that we could not treat and we lost her on Saturday afternoon.
She was a beautiful dog who had a very bad start in life and it is so unfair that just as she was enjoying life she had it all taken away. I cannot describe how bereft we feel. She followed me everywhere and waited by the front door for me if I was out.
From our problem dog we had a joyful, loyal companion. It was not easy at the start and we often had moments when we wondered if we would cope but every bit of it was worthwhile to see such a difference in a dog in just the thirteen months that she was with us and she more than repaid us in the love she brought to us. Sali was the second ex breeding dog that we had rescued and we would encourage others to give these lovely animals a chance.
Thank you Sali and thank you Many Tears
Sue John

It was with great sadness on Sunday 22^nd May that I had to put my wonderful Tarka to sleep after a short illness relating to her spine.   I adopted Tarka from Many Tears via a fosterer in Corsham in August 2008.  From the moment she arrived we have been the best of friends and she has been my constant companion and by my side.  We did everything together and she never failed to make me smile every day.  I may have given her a good home but she gave me tenfold back in faithfulness and  love every day.  I can honestly say Tarka has been the most rewarding experience of my life.  She will  be very much missed by all her human friends and doggie pals but will always be in our hearts.  I enclose a picture of her last Autumn on her holidays in the Lakes having such fun playing poo sticks.  That smile will always be with me.  Sleep tight my beautiful Tarka until we meet again at Rainbow Bridge with love from your Mum

Dear Sylvia, I am writing to tell you that very sadly we have had to have our brave cocker spaniel Libby put to sleep on May 5th. Libby was one of your very scared ex breeding dogs, she was very shut down when we first got her and terrified of people. We had to gently herd her into the house from the garden,  unable to take her out for a walk, yet she howled when we took the other dogs out, even though she was never left alone.
As  you said, Libby bonded with one of our other dogs, a kind and gentle chocolate lab called Rona,  we had also rescued her, but not from MTAR. Libby became Rona's shadow and over time the world slowly opened up for her, and very gradually over the next 4 years she became a happy and contented little cocker.  As long as she stuck to her routine and could rely on the other dogs,  Isla our loopy golden retriever  or Caris  from MTAR, and eventually she learnt to trust us.
We couldn't touch Libby for 7 months, but from tiny little steps and her huge bravery, she found a place in our family and a place in our hearts. We took her on holidays around the UK and also for weekends away staying in travelodge and she coped with it all. She walked miles, never at speed, unless she thought that she was being left behind.
Sadly Rona died last January,  from renal failure. Her final gift to Libby was to slowly  stop going out for walks due to her severe arthritis,  this meant that Libby got used to going out with us and no Rona who waited at home.
Amazingly, Libby walked on long walks over the May Bank holiday, she slowly went off her food over the weekend  and was unwell on Tuesday 2nd May. Sadly blood tests and X-rays confirmed Libby had liver cancer and it had spread throughout her lungs. Libby had had a hard start to her life, it was only right that she had a kind and gentle end. Libby may have entered this world to indifference,  but when she died she knew she was loved.  Her final gift to me .... For the first time ever Libby let her guard down and leant against me, while we were sitting waiting to see the vet.  The little dog who I thought we would never be able to cuddle saved that for the last day of her life.
We were very lucky that you allowed us to live with us 4 year's ago. She came to us on a glorious sunny day on the late May bank holiday weekend,  and she left us on a glorious sunny day after the early May Bank holiday.  We shall miss her.
Sylvia I wrote this last week,  and Internet failed just as I was about to send. It has taken me a week before I could write it all again. Thanks to you and your team who entrusted that very special dog to us for a short time, it was a privilege to have Libby, fomerly Blaze. Libby taught us so much, and we will pass this knowledge on to those who come after her.
Anne

Dear Sylvia
On 20^th September 2009 I was lucky enough to adopt Dylan from you. He was a seven year old Border Collie farm dog who had lost his home through no fault of his own.
I am so sad to tell you that just over 2 weeks ago, on 21 April, my lovely Dylan died. He had a fit, and the vets came to see him and said it was best to let him go. He died at home, in his favourite bed, in my arms while I held him and told him how very loved he was.
Dylan was so special and I am so grateful we found each other. I saw his picture on your website and was just drawn to him. He was only with you for a few days before I came and took him home. Dylan didn’t always have the easiest of times, he had a lot of ongoing health issues, and could be quite anxious, but he never complained and he overcame so many things and became a really happy and contented dog.
He had some great achievements too, he raised money for charity, had his portrait painted by a brilliant artist, had a photo shoot, appeared on my Christmas cards, became a professional thief – stealing dog beds from his many friends – large or small, had a lot of girlfriends, learnt to eat snow, side stepped every puddle and never ever got his paws dirty, oh and he gave the best kisses.
He had really slowed down in recent months, and some things were becoming a bit of a struggle, but losing him was still a terrible shock. Being without Dylan is horrible and I miss my friend so much. My heart is broken, but thank you for giving me the privilege of having Dylan, and for saving him so that we could have our time together.
Sarah x

Many Tears have been shed today as sadly we said goodnight to dear little Edore (Dora to us).  Dora had been in foster with us since 17th March 2015, she had been the smallest but the most endearing little dog we have had the privilege to foster, at only 4 1/2 kgs she had a HUGE personality, she would always bring a smile to my face even on a dull day, but, if ever her diner was late being served the look she gave you was priceless.
Despite her health problems Dora took life at her own pace, as she was her own boss, always up for a walk and first in the queue for a treat, she also loved her bean bag bed, but, the real love of her life was my husband - who she ADORED - why ??? simply because he treated her like his special PRINCESS. xx

Dear Syvia, and all at Many Tears,
In September 2007 I came to Many Tears for the first of many visits, to pick up Lily, then called Jilly. She had previously had a stroke and held her head distinctly to one side and had no vision in her right eye.  Nine wonderful years later Lily has crossed Rainbow Bridge this April.  There are no words to say how devastated I feel, except I am sure most people reading this will understand.
What a spectacularly brave and affectionate girl she was, a cuddle meant she would press her body as hard as she could into yours to be as close as possible, and with her head on my shoulder, she always lay next to me and walked close by, following me around the house everywhere, and checking me out several times while I was in the bath to make sure I was still there!  She adored food and her balance was amazing climbing over the furniture to reach a tin which may have some food in it, if it did she would always get it open and enjoy the contents! She didn’t let anything hold her back. Such a gentle girl, I absolutely adored her.
Thank you Sylvia and Many Tears for what you do for all these wonderful animals, the benefits reach far and wide not just for the animals but for all the people they help to heal as we think we are healing them.
With Love  Dorothy (Forbes)

Wonderfull, sweet, kind, pretty, great companion, the best temperament, eyes you can drown in, with the greatest silky hair you will ever see, stoke a Cavalier Spaniel and you will never want to stop, I have a love affair with Cavies started many years ago, we adopted Shammy from MT, my Grandson Kyle (now 21) said "Oh Grandama can we have her", I said yes of course, that was in February 2010.  She was 6½ yrs old, she took our hearts in a half minute flat, has been a wonderful companion for the whole family.  All our other MT dogs, Charlie, Annie, Ruby, and Sandy our other fosters have gone to her for comfort.  She passed over the Rainbow Bridge on Sunday the 10th, after having a heart murmer for a long time.  Our great vet gave her more time than we thought, she had bad day and night Saturday, and passed away on Sunday the 10th.  We miss her and crying many many tears for this little beautiful Cavalier.  She will stay in my heart forever.
Pat Mills

Dear Sylvia, the Many Tears team, and Joyce,
I wish that I were writing to you under better circumstances, but I'm afraid that I have some very sad news. Our beautiful cavalier Panda, who we adopted from Many Tears in March 2014, was diagnosed with mitral valve disease in January 2015. He coped very well on medication and maintained a good quality of life for more than a year, but his condition worsened earlier this month, and after two stays in hospital there was nothing more they could do for him so he had to be put to sleep on Thursday 18 February. We're completely devastated and miss him terribly. Life without him is extremely difficult.
Panda was such a special, affectionate, funny and beautiful boy, full of love and bringing us so much joy every day. He was extremely brave, and even when he was very ill he was always happy and full of life and cuddles. We are extremely blessed to have had him for two wonderful years, but we're utterly heartbroken that our time with him couldn't be longer. Tails is also grieving deeply for Panda as they were best friends and did everything together.
We are so grateful to Sylvia, Jenna, Joyce, and everyone at Many Tears for bringing Panda into our lives, as our time with him has been the greatest gift anyone could receive. We will cherish his memory forever and life will never be the same without him. We're attaching some photos of him here.
Although Panda can never be replaced, in time we would like to give another dog a loving home and find a new friend for Tails (he was so close to Panda, and so loved having another cavvie in the flat, that he is finding it very difficult being an only dog). We would love to adopt from Many Tears again, so we'll be checking your listings and please do keep us in mind if you take in any cavvies that you think would be suitable.
With best wishes,
Lily and James

Our lovely boy went over the Rainbow Bridge on the 15^th January 2016, he was aged 14 years. He died so suddenly and that is why it’s so hard to say these words. He wasn’t a Many Tears dog, but he was a rescue dog.
Bobbie was 5 years old when I adopted him with his best friend Jack (who was 7 years old in 2007). They had two previous owners before me in their young lives and were both very much neglected. But with lots of TLC they turned around into two beautiful little angels. So many wonderful memories and so much happiness. Sadly Jack died in 2011, he only had 1 kidney and died of renal failure, brave Bobbie was so sad.
A friend told me about Many Tears so we were so lucky to a little ex-breeding girl Róisín Rua (she was in foster with Jean on the Isle of White), Bobbie fell in love with her and showed her a wonderful life. Sadly that was short lived as little Rosie was only with us 11 short months, she had breathing problems and a lung disease. We were so heart broken we went back to Many Tears and adopted Eckle (now Abbey) from foster in Abingdon in Oxford. Bobbie once again took her under his wing and loved her. Abbey was an ex breeding girl and very scared but he showed her the way. He was her rock and she followed him everywhere. Very sadly the day after Bobbie died she was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare kidney tumour that is inoperable. She was referred to a specialist, our sadness is so great right now.
We miss Bobbie every single day. So run free little angel into the sunshine with your best friend Jack.
Love you forever
Jan & Abbey & Graham xxx

This is a  photo of my Tri Millie/Marley who left us on 18.1.16 so suddenly aged just 6.
Millie never lost her fear of the world beyond our gate but was such a happy and loving little girl.
Also seen are Bella 28.4.15 and Gabby 25.7.14.  Reunited again.  Miss these babies so, so much, my heart is broken.   Thank you for the gift of these sweet girls.
RIP babies you were and will always be loved so much  xxx

.....We have lost our beautiful boy after 2 short years of finding him.   He came to us with a broken tail and blind in one eye after surviving 10 brutal years in Romania.  Despite this he loved life and lived it to the full - his broken tail never stopped wagging.   I know in kennels at Many Tears he used to nip the back of legs  so only staff could go in his kennel and for a short time he did this to us too  but when he realised that we would never walk away from him or leave him he slowly started to relax and stopped the dreaded nip of  the legs!!!
..... He started enjoying everything - his main love being food  and he never had to worry when he would next eat - his belly was always full (maybe a bit too full sometimes due to his mum spoiling him)  He lost most of the sight in his one eye but we researched living with a blind dog and after a few adaptions to the house and garden and his mum having a bell attached to her all the time - he still lived his life to the full.
.....Three months ago oral cancer changed everything.  He was a brave strong boy  and still his broken tail kept wagging but when it was too painful for him to even eat we knew it was time to let him go.  Our hearts are broken and we have a massive Riley hole in our lives but we are so grateful that Many Tears brought Riley in to our lives.  I would like to thank the kennel staff as I know as with every dog he was well loved when he spent time in the kennels and a special thank you to Joyce and her husband for fostering and loving Jimmmy Jim Jams as he was known to them and starting on his journey to find us.
 

It is with a heavy heart that we'd like to let all at many tears know of the sudden passing of our beloved cavalier Poppy (paris) Having nurtured and cared for her for just under two years her passing came far too soon. Poppy showered us with as much affection as we showered her. It was such a pity that just as she was blossoming into a beautiful trusting little girl her life was cut short. We can't thank many tears enough for allowing us the opportunity to adopt this gorgeous girl,even tho we travelled down from Glasgow, it is a journey we would happily follow in a heartbeat. Hoping to adopt another cavalier in the not so distant future. Ann and Alan Keegan (Glasgow)
 

It is a very sad day. Five and a half years ago 4 year old Rosie (known to
you as Tuscany) came into our lives to keep my Cav company after his friend
died. She gave him a new lease of life and had a wonderful summer chasing
butterflies in the fields just as if she couldn't believe life could be like
that. In November our second MT girl, Poppy, came to keep her company and
the groomer noticed how much more settled Rosie was with her new friend. She
never understood what toys were for and just chewed all except little dog
ones which she would gather up around her on the settee. She was a mum
through and through and taught both Poppy and Tilly (MT no 3!) how to behave
and how not to be afraid. We lost Tilly on her first New Years Eve when a
firework exploded unexpectedly nearby but I just said to Rosie 'help me find
Tilly' and she ran off, sniffed around a bit and jumped up at a fence
surrounding our little green. Sure enough, we walked round to the
appropriate garden and Tilly crept out from under a shed. I shall so miss
her. I can't thank you all enough for the chance to adopt these lovely
little dogs ....I remember your vet phoning to ask if I still wanted to go
ahead as she had been found to have a Grade 3 murmur but she has been fine
with homeopathy until the last six months when her cough worsened and she
started medication. On Christmas Eve Rosie's heart failure suddenly worsened
and the vet came today to help her and she is now asleep. Goodnight my
darling girl.....
Many thanks and best wishes for 2016, Jean, Poppy and Tilly xxx

Atomic, better known as our gentle Pip/naughty Oi Stop It, was set free December 2015. I was so lucky to share his first year of freedom, sadly it was the final year of this sweet little cocker's life.  He loved everyone and everyone loved him.
'You'll hear an urgent morse in the gentle rain ...
You'll see the coldest star in the arms of the oldest tree
And you'll know to come to me'
Diana x 
 

I had forgotten to let you know about “Monty” who we adopted from MT back in 22^nd December 2005 when he was known as “MO” and was helped to cross the Bridge on Friday the October 2015 aged 12years.  He was found on the streets of Swansea originally.  He was known as Sergeant Major as he ruled all our other boys just like an Army Sergeant Major.  He had suffered seizures for about 6 months and was on medication, he lost a lot of weight but remained a happy little chap throughout. At the times of his seizures it was heart breaking to hold him while he endured the fits, he took longer and longer to come through them and in the end it was all too much for his poor broken body to take.  Every dog is his own character but Monty was one of those dogs that just get right into your heart not matter what they do, hence it has taken so long to inform you of the passing of another of your “Ex Charges”   Rest assured he had a great life and was loved every minute of his time with us and the rest of our Schnauzer gang.   Thank you once again for rescuing him and allowing us to have him in our lives.
Many thanks

Bob & Leigh Russell (Stockport)

Hi Sylvia,
Just to let you know that Billy was helped to cross the Bridge on Friday the 11^th of December 2015, He had suffered a stroke in the same afternoon.  He originally came from the Stockport Area (quite near to us in fact) in 2008 where he had bitten the owners Husband so was shifted off the South Wales where within a week he had bitten that another Husband.   I travelled down to collect him and there began the start of his forever home with our gang of Schnauzers.  He was perfect but he bit me with a couple of days!  We found the reason why he was doing this when we groomed him, he was just skin & bone under all that fur.  He was a loving little lad who was just a pleasure to have around, he loved his walks but sadly as his eyesight grew worse they could be taken in the daylight but he enjoyed being off the lead.  His recall was sporadic due to deafness so it depended on the wind carrying your voice but he always seemed to know he was too far away from us and came happily trotting back.  Sure going to miss him and as always thank you for saving him in the first place.  Many thanks
Bob & Leigh Russell (Stockport)

.....All the dog that come to Many Tears touch your heart but sometimes a dog comes along and does so a little bit more and Judy was one of them.
.....She arrived very fearful and worried and it took her a while to settle but we all loved her.  She was lucky enough to be fosterered by Mark a member of staff.
.....She had an incontinence problem and was sent to a specialist vet to have an operation to rectify this. They did an exploratory and found one lung with inadequate vessels going in and a completely abnormal urinary tract. They tried desperately to save her but sadly she did not make it.
.....We are overwhelmed with sadness for her and are so grateful to Mark for giving her just a short time to know about life in a home.  Run free Judy - you will not be forgotten.
 

Sadly on the 7th December with a very heavy heart we had to help Arrow our foster dog over the "rainbow bridge"..... Everyone who met him loved his quiet, sweet and gentle nature, for such a tiny dog Arrow has left a huge hole in my heart.
 

.....It is with complete and utter all-consuming sadness that I have to let you know that our Baby Blue has passed away at only one year and one month of age, although that is far too young to lose our amazing little man it is more time than the vets told us we would have with him, they said he wouldn’t even make it to six months.
.....Blue suffered from seizures from when he was very young and on the 29th October 2015 we had to make the heartbreaking decision to have him PTS. He had been doing very well but he went into a cluster that just wouldn’t end. Blue was a fighter, the strongest of the strong and the most loving and wonderful little soul. He enjoyed his life more than you’d ever expect from someone with such health issues and every morning would wake up excited for the day ahead.
.....It was cruel that someone so special had to be burdened with such a horrible condition, but he did not let them affect his life when he wasn’t having them. He loved playing with his three rescue brothers, he loved sleeping on the sofa, pouncing on his toys, lying down by the kitchen sink or in his spot in the garden, curling up with his brothers, waking me up in the middle of the night by nudging me to lift him onto my bed (as he obviously couldn’t be bothered to put the effort in at that time of night), he loved feeling the wind on his face, he loved all our other animal friends including the chickens and rabbits,  he just wanted to be friends with everyone and would greet everyone he met on a walk with a tail wag and a sniff.
.....Words could never do that precious soul justice, he was larger than life and so incredibly sweet. We loved him with our whole heart and have devoted all of our time to him this past year and would of continued to do so for as long as we were blessed to have him if only he hadn’t had to leave so soon. It was the hardest decision we have ever had to make but we knew it was his time to go. We want to thank Many Tears for blessing us with Baby Blue, we would not have traded our time together for the world, he made such a huge impact on our entire family in such a short time. He will live on in our hearts forever. It was an absolute privilege to know him and have him in our lives.

Baby Blue (previously Bacon) 11/09/14 – 29/10/15
Adopted on the 9th November 2014.

He shall missed by all who had the pleasure of meeting him, and it really was a pleasure.

Chester came to us after our first rescue cav, Clover, passed away.  Chester soon became an extremely loved and integral part of our family, especially when he took it upon himself to become our new born son's bodyguard.  Chester was a hugely loving dog, and would always try to squeeze into the smallest gap in order to get a snuggle with you. His passing has been a huge shock for us, as he was still quite a young dog, and became ill very quickly. But in the nearly 6 years that he was with us we loved him with all of our hearts. Chester, you will always be with us in our hearts but you will be missed.
Soraya Khan xxx




 

Bonnie Bennett with the waggley tail as she was affectionately called, sadly passed away on 14th September.  She became very ill that morning while we were on holiday in Cornwall, so we made the decision to come back home and see our vet where we had to make that horrible decision to say goodbye and have her put to sleep. We adopted her 5 years ago and it was a privilege to have her as part of the family,a beautiful little girl with lots of character,she loved her life and loved her caravan holidays she will be sadly missed by us and all of her friends that she made, and of course Ben the King Charles cavalier her soul mate. God bless.
Chris Bennett
 

Sadly we had to have Kingston put to sleep this afternoon.  We originally adopted Kingston (Simon) from MT in September 2010.  He was our first dog and was a complete star.

Sadly in March this year he was diagnosed with lymphoma and today we made the difficult decision to put him to sleep as he had gone off his food.

He had a great five years with us - running around up in the forestry with us and we loved his company.  He will be greatly missed.  A very handsome hound.

Sleep well K x


 

LILY - August 2015
 

In 2008 I drove to Many Tears to collect my third foster dog - she was an ex-breeding Rottweiler called Binka, six months later we adopted her and changed her name to Lily.
Lily was a gentle dog loved by all who met her, she helped many foster dogs overcome their fears and would also accompany me on collections.   Lily was my constant shadow, during the day she would follow me around and if i went out she would wait patiently by the door for my return, and every evenings were spent sprawled out together on the sofa. 
Sadly on Sunday the 16th - I lost my best friend and soul mate and now my heart is broken....

Hi
.....Nearly ten years ago I adopted a yellow Labrador named Trip from you.  Sadly he died yesterday from cancer but we wanted to let you know that he had a lovely life with us.  As we understood it, you had rescued Trip from the pound.  He had been found without any identification having apparently been abandoned so nothing was known about him, his age, his name or his origins.  You fostered him with a lady in Somerset who named him Trip and about a week later we adopted him.
.....On the journey home I did wonder if we had made a big mistake as he wouldn’t stay in the back of the car with our other dog so we finished the journey with Trip in the front of the car with me.  He rested his head on my knee with his big brown eyes locked on me and by the time we got home I was completely in love with him. He was such a placid dog, nothing fazed him.  He loved running around with our older dog, enjoyed swimming in the sea and playing with my children.
.....Three years ago we lost our older dog but not wanting Trip to be on his own, I got another rescue Labrador cross.  Our new dog, Olly, came with problems, mostly that he is very afraid of other dogs which makes him aggressive.  However Trips calm and placid attitude made him one of the few dogs that he has never had a problem with.  Trip was quite surprised however when he got into his basket one night and Olly climbed in with him.  The look on Trip’s face was priceless!
.....Trip was also quite a stubborn dog.  He never accepted that my son had grown old enough to take him for a walk and flatly refused to go with him.  Even this week when my son, now 20 years old, needed to walk Trip the short distance home, Trip would not go with him.  He just sat and waited for a proper grown up to take over.
.....He was a smashing dog and we are very thankful that you rescued him and gave us the opportunity to know him and share our home with him.
Thank you.
Regards
Allison Caffyn

My beautiful Murphey, the boy I fostered then adopted three years ago, has today crossed the rainbow bridge, age fifteen and a half.
He was such a wonderful boy, who I adored. He was not so poorly he couldn't still enjoy some of his days, but he had so many things ailing his body, the family and the vet agreed we wanted to give him his dignity and his pride. He was such a loyal happy, amazing dog, my heart is broken.
Run free sweetheart mummy hopes she made the right decision for you.
I love you always, your mummy and daddy Daniel xxxx
 

Hello
.....Some very sad news to tell you - we had to make the heartbreaking decision to have our lovely Millie put to sleep last night.  She had severe Pancreas and each time blood tests were taken they were getting higher counts.
.....Tuesday night we rushed her into the emergency vet as she was in severe pain - she was given strong painkilling injections and kept in overnight but the night nurse had written a report saying she was getting very stressed. We brought her home on Wednesday but she was so unsettled and got worse yesterday and was crying out in pain.  We took her back to the vet and we all knew we couldn't let her suffer any more.  She was on the strongest painkiller medication and even that was not helping her at all. We had to make the right decision for her even though it was the worse one for us. We are so very upset as you can imagine.
.....Something strange though - early on Tuesday morning when Chris got up he went downstairs and thought he saw Martha (our cavalier) running around the dining room table - he thought how strange it was as normally she would have run over to him for a cuddle - anyway he opened the door for her to go into the garden - and no dog - he looked into the lounge and there was Martha on the settee cuddled into Millie absolutely sound asleep - no way could she have gone into the lounge and gone into a deep sleep in the two seconds it took Chris to open the door!!  I believe it was one of my cavaliers come back for Millie and saying "Come and join us over the bridge and we can have a game of chase". A couple of years ago Chris saw a white cat in the dining room (I had a white cat many years ago) and  wondered whose cat it was - that also disappeared and a couple of days later we lost Pixie our cocker spaniel.  I do believe and it is a comfort to think that our pets come back to help others over the bridge. Millie is the black and white cocker spaniel and Martha is the cavalier (both from Many Tears)
Best wishes - Heather and Chris.

Dear Sylvia,
.....We adopted Patch and his mum Jess eight years ago from you.  I think you were a little dubious about us but we passed the home visit and they settled in really well. You could tell they were a little nervous of shouting and men's voices but they became really good house dogs.
.....Jess was totally dominant to Patch and he was lost when she died 18 months ago. I didn't want to get another dog quickly after she died, I was very attached to her and felt that I had lost my best friend.  Eight months ago we had Daisy, a working cocker spaniel at 17 weeks (a rescue too).  Patch loved her straight away and she injected some energy into the household
..... Sadly, 10 days ago Patch was given a terminal prognosis as he was anaemic with tumours on his liver and spleen.  He just had a day in the vet and then came home, pain free, just a bit slow.  He had a lovely last few days and even yesterday he had his breakfast and a nice slow walk with a few little gallops to keep up with his crazy little sister.  Last night he had a fatal internal bleed and passed away comfortably and quietly.
.....We have had so much love and joy from those dogs and I would like to thank you for letting them come to us to live out the rest of their days. If we are looking for another dog in the autumn, I will look on your website as you do so much good work.  Daisy needs another dog and loves playing and is quite submissive.
With best wishes
Clare

We adopted our beloved dog, Charlie, from Many Tears 8 years ago. Back then he was named Moto although, as he had been found as a stray and rescued from the pound, and this wasn't his real name, he didn't mind when we changed it to Charlie.
He was the gentlest and most loving of dogs and we miss him terribly.
We had some wonderful years with him and we hope we gave him a happy life to repay him for the love he gave to us.

.....It is with much sadness that we must tell you that our beloved Bonnybec (Bonny) passed away last Saturday. We only had her for six months and during that time the love she received and returned to us all was so wonderful that we are all heartbroken. She was such a gentle lovely lady and the tears keep coming for her.   She was so loved and a joy to have in our lives.It was a privilege to care for her and have in our lives even if only for such a short time.
.....She was only ill for a few days and tests at the vets revealed cancer of the lymph glands and lungs.  What a brave girl we had. Even though our time with her was short, we comfort ourselves knowing she loved being kissed, cuddled and spoiled completely. She loved her walks and visits from the family especially my 10 year old grand daughter Sophie who was her godmother and who always brought her treats. They adored each other.
.....Thank you all at MT for letting us adopt this absolutely wonderful girl who will be in our hearts always. See you on Rainbow Bridge darling girl.
.....Thank you also MT for the very wonderful work that you do for the animals in your care.
Love
Linda James

Dear all at Many Tears.
.....I'm writing with regard to Flory the 11 year old boxer we adopted from you in August. I regret to inform you that Flory sadly passed away a few weeks ago.
.....Flory was a beautiful boxer with a fantastic nature. She was very cautious when she first moved in with us but she quickly settled in and soon found her voice, barking every morning to tell us the post had arrived. She met many dog friends who she enjoyed chasing around the local fields. She was very bouncy right up until her last couple of days with us.
.....Flory managed to overcome her eye ulcer and made a full recovery, she was an absolutely delightful old girl.  From a family that has had several boxers, Flory was definitely the best and most intriguing of them all and she will be greatly missed. It came as a complete shock when she deteriorated almost overnight after suffering sudden kidney failure. She was taken to the vet and passed away during the night. Thankfully it was very quick and she was not in any pain.
.....I would like to thank Many Tears for bringing Flory into our lives. She touched us all and will not be forgotten in a hurry. The only regret we have is that we couldn't have had her sooner. I hope Flory enjoyed her time with us, she always seemed to be a happy girl and we are very fortunate to have had the privilege to spend time with her.I have attached a few photographs of Flory, however there are a lot more should you wish to have any further pictures please let me know.
Thanks again.
Kind regards
Iain Scott

We are utterly devastated to have to report that Jasper didn't make it. We are just overwhelmed with sadness at this news but are extremely grateful that our supporters gave him a chance with their wonderful donations. This is the report we received from Langford's and we would also like to thank them for everything they did for our little boy.

.....Sadly Daphne passed to Rainbow Bridge on 1st April 2015 aged 8 years old. Unfortunately, Daphne was diagnosed with an incurable gastrointestinal lymphoma at the beginning of February 2015. Following a consultation with a veterinary oncologist our vet advised us to take her home and spoil her.We did just that and Daphne was able to spend the last few weeks of her life with her family where she felt secure, happy and much loved.
.....We adopted Daphne 21 months ago and she quickly won our hearts and became one of our special girls. She came to us very shut down but slowly slowly we managed to build her confidence and open up the world to her. She accompanied our other girls to shows and was very successful herself winning "Best Rescue" and "Best in Show" at Alvanley and Manley Fun Dog Show last year. Daphne showed me what can be achieved with time, patience and love. It has been an honour and a pleasure to look after this brave girl. Our only regret is that she didn't enjoy the good life for longer. Run free my brave, beautiful girl.  xxxx

.....It is with a broken heart that I have to tell you that sweet Bella my ruby Cavalier King Charles that came to me 10 months ago has died suddenly this morning.
.....I knew when she came to me she had a grade 5 heart murmer and I could lose her any time but it still comes as a awful shock.  She was so much loved and is with her sister Gabby now who I lost 9 months ago.  They will be missed so much by Millie/Marley and Ruby and Rupert.  RIP Bella and Gabby.   Thank you for 2 lovely girls.
Frances  Simmons
 

Hi Sylvia and all,
.....It is through tears that I write to let you know that we have had no other choice than to allow our Hope to cross over Rainbow bridge today.
.....Three years and two months ago we were given the pleasure by you of being able to welcome Hope into our family.  This, deaf, toothless, sweet girl, brought a smile to my face and filled my heart with love everyday, and broke my heart every night as still fearful of the dark, she slept with the light on every night.
.....Whenever I explained to people what this poor little girl had been through their response was always "she is lucky to have found you".  I never understood that as I always saw it the other way round.  WE were the lucky ones, for there is no love like the love of a rescue dog.  The trust and love this girl was still prepared to give after everything that had been done to her broke my heart daily.
.....Hope did not know how to play with toys or with other dogs.  She was deaf and it always upset me that she could not hear me telling her how  much I loved her or how beautiful she was.  However, there were four favourite pass times for Hope, eating, sleeping, cuddling and sitting in the garden watching the fish, the sky and the birds whilst laying on her cushion. She was never left alone as she went to work with Karen through the day or stayed at home with me.
.....From the day we brought her home she had a pull on my heart strings that I am not sure I will ever feel again, and right now I am not sure I will ever get over losing her.  What I can tell you is that whilst she was with us she was loved, every second of every day and for allowing us the pleasure of having her in our lives I want to thank you.  Heartbroken just does not describe what we are feeling right now.
.....Until I found Many Tears I did not understand the level of neglect and abuse that was happening, and until Hope came in to our lives I did not understand the true meaning of rescue.  Your rescue and the love of Hope is the main reason why Harvey's Army exists and every dog we rescue from an abused home or tied to a railing, dumped in the streets is done mainly because of the influence of Many Tears and the love of Hope.
.....Thank you again for giving us the opportunity of loving her and for trusting us with her care.  She brought such happiness in to our lives.
Yours Sincerely
Nina and Karen Blackburn
Harvey's Army

It is with a broken heart that I tell you that we have lost our lovely crazy Nana Bulldog.  She very sadly had a Stroke & didn't make it. We are all devastated & miss her terribly. But would like to thank you for letting us have her she really was a Crazy Character & will be forever missed.

NANA’S POEM
You saw me all skinny and shattered,
Collecting me was all that mattered.
You built me up and made me strong,
So that we could have fun all day long.

You took me in an showed me it all,
Love, Snuggles, Special Meatballs.
I loved it, even the going to school,
We never stopped, we did it all.

Stubbornness was my middle name,
Crazy and bonkers you loved me all the aame.
Naughty and a madam you would complain,
But kisses and cuddles you gave me again and again.

I was demanding and loved to anore,
You changed my life it was no longer a chore.
We had adventures, we had holidays,
And the Chub Chub song was a funny craze.

Barkley, Ralph, Lola and me, we were a pack,
Then came Happy no way he was going back.
Beaches, woods, fields and the stream,
My time with you all was just a dream.

I know I'm missed and you must grieve,
But it just was, my time to leave.
I know its sad and really not funny,
But I'm OK, I'm over the rainbow with Lola chasing a bunny.

My bones don't ache now I am free,
I'll always love you as you love me.
You all gave me my Happy Ever After,
Now its time to remember the Fun, Happiness and the Laughter.
 

.....We adopted Misty (formerly Niomi) in September 2014.  She was the most affectionate, grateful and placid little dog one could ever hope to have.  She settled in so well and together we lived with and managed all her little problems, cataracts, wasted leg muscles, luxating patella, a heart murmur, habitual paw chewing and a fear of big open spaces.
.....She was such a grateful little soul and lived happily alongside Minnie, our Jack Russell/Lurcher cross.  We fell in love with her as she did with us so it was such a worry when she became increasingly listless, uninterested in food and reluctant to leave the house.
.....Our vet diagnosed critical kidney failure so she was put to sleep in my arms.  Losing her has broken our hearts.  We are so grateful to all at Many Tears that you rescued her, found her a caring foster home and gave us the chance to give her a loving home for the last seven months of her life.  Once we have recovered from the shock of losing her, we hope you will give us the chance to provide a home for another needy little dog.
.....We had hoped that we would be writing to you to include a mention in your Happy Endings section and are so sad that we didn’t have enough time with Misty to do this.
Christine, Peter & Minnie Glenville

Dear Many Tears
We adopted Happy (formerly Cathy) from you in September 2011 where she settled in with her best friend , Cisco. Happy was as her name suggests, Happy and she loved her new life. When she ran her ears would flop up and down and it really was a funny sight.  Happy loved her walks, she loved her food and she was quite a flirt with the male dogs! Happy was also very content chilling on the sofa, she was  super little girl. Unfortunately, Happy became ill suddenly and x-rays showed she had an in-operable tumor on her liver. It was time to let Happy sleep. We have loved this little girl so much and so glad she came into our lives . Although our hearts are breaking now, we will always remember this special girl who, though was rescued , rescued us.  You will always be in our hearts Happy.
All our love Karen , Max and Cisco xxx

It is with much sadness I have to tell you that our much loved Yorkie Harriet, died last weekend.  It seems that she had a fit whilst we were out and died whilst in the fit. She was a quiet and unassuming dog and loved family life which she only had for 11 months but they were happy and secure.
Loved you lots Harriet

I feel very sad to let you know that my beloved Pepsi who I adopted almost 5 years ago had to be put to sleep in January. She suffered with a collapsed trachea and was struggling so I had to let her go. She was a gentle, placid and loving dog and I miss her terribly as does my other rescue dog Shen.
Jan Porteous





 

Good Morning to you all at Many Tears…
.....I just wanted to tell you the rather sad news that the happy trio of Many Tears Rescue Dogs – ‘Cash, Monty and Rusty’, living with the Whitting/ Sheppard families has now been reduced to Two, as the little Sheltie, originally known to you as Toon in 2008/9, and renamed Rusty when he came to us, suffered sudden and catastrophic kidney failure during the past week, and, last night,  we had to take the difficult decision to put him to sleep rather than let him suffer.
.....As you may remember, he was right from the beginning always a rather delicate and nervous little dog, having definitely not had a good start in life – in fact, you originally described him to us as a “Failed stud dog” – a statement born out by the fact that he had probably been kept in the dark on a concrete floor, which gave him poor sight and very stiff joints!!
.....I would like to think that we gave him a good life with us for the rest of his days, even down to the expensive lifetime fat-free diet he required, after contracting Pancreatitis in the first three months after arriving with us!!
.....Despite being a somewhat cussed and very individual character, who definitely had not been standing in line when the brain cells were given out, he will be very greatly missed by us all, not least, by our youngest granddaughter, Penny, who, when she next visits us, will be wondering where the “Little Lion” has gonE.
Thank you all, and keep up the good work you do – you make such a difference, with your caring.
Robin & Alison Whitting  

.....Aled came from a breeder. He was intended to be a stud dog but – probably due to low testosterone levels – he wasn’t interested and got handed over to Many Tears rescue when he was 18 months old. I collected him from his foster home near London just before Christmas 2008. In many respects Aled then was like a young puppy – he knew nothing. He had never been for walks or run free in the park, he didn’t know how to relate to other dogs or to people, if I put him on my lap he froze (What are you going to do to me now?), in his second week with us he got a bad cough from meeting traffic pollution for the first time. But he learnt so much from his Big Brother Oliver. If Oliver wasn’t worried about something like fireworks, then Aled didn’t worry; if Oliver thought people were nice, then Aled would give it a go.
.....So Aled became part of our family. He came to our monthly obedience training days and wiggled his bum at the other dogs. He even won a couple of rosettes in obedience competitions, though it took me about two years to teach him to retrieve, but once he’d learnt he loved retrieving toys in the sitting room. He came on our camping holidays in Norfolk and loved the beach. He visited friends and co-hosted the Cavalier Christmas parties. I loved the way, when I let him off the lead, he ran around in circles and dive-bombed Oliver with such joy. But if I walked him without Oliver he would simply walk at my heel – Big Bro was his confidence.
.....Healthwise, Aled was a disaster. He came with a grade 1 heart murmur that slowly increased, he had mild CM/SM, an eye problem, and developed quite severe myoclonus. He went into heart failure last July and was not expected to live as long as he did. When he was put to sleep on 5 February 2015 he was 7 years and 7 months old – the classic age for Cavaliers to die of MVD. He had been with us for just over 6 years, and I am so sad that he didn’t have longer to enjoy life after his bad start. But I am glad that though he started life shut in a kennel on his own, he died surrounded by loving friends and with me stroking his head. Like Oliver, Aled was registered with the Cavalier Collection Scheme, so his tissue samples will help research into MVD and pancreatitis. And when his ashes come back to me I shall scatter them on our favourite Norfolk beach.
Best wishes
Kate Hughes

We are all absolutely heartbroken about the loss of our beautiful little Kiri (aged 2 years 11 months).  We adopted her nearly two years ago.  She grew in confidence continually and was a happy girl.  She really enjoyed her short life.  Unfortunately, a short while after, we discovered that she had kidney failure.  She was a real fighter.  Our vet was so amazed that she was so well with such terrible test results.  In the end she was only poorly for a few days.  On Tuesday 13 January she started fitting and we had no choice but to let her go.  We will miss her every day, but are so blessed to have had our wonderful time with her.  Thank you to her fosterers, Vicky and Charles, for letting us give her a forever home and the rescue for all that you do.

Sharon and Bill Brown
 

Dear Many Tears
....We are devastated to inform you that Martha passed away this morning.  She has been unwell since before Christmas and eventually tests showed a large mass in her stomach.
....We feel honoured to have shared her final year with her and our lives will never be the same again.
Lynda & Rod Smeeton

SUZY- one more day

If we had one more day with you
We'd tell you even more
How much we really loved you
And we worshipped you for sure.
If we had one more day with you
We'd take you to the beach
To feel the sand beneath your paws
But that's just out of reach.
If we had one more day with you
We'd take you for a walk
Your favourite place behind the church
We'd play and run and talk.
You were so special Suzy Q
An angel through and through
You gave so much of yourself to us
And you taught us so much too.
We knew your stay was short with us
So we made it extra good
We took you to nice places
And gave you tasty food.
You loved your Christmas with us
A family of your own
You had so many presents
A bowl, a bed, a bone.
You learned to play and spin and dance
Despite your former years
You embraced your life and lived each day
And banished all your fears.
We loved to watch you sleeping
And admire your beautiful face
And as you made each milestone
Our smiles could be seen from space.
We were so very proud of you
You changed our lives forever
You were funny, feisty, loving, kind
And wonderful and clever.
Our Suzy Q we miss you so
But we know you couldn't stay
We know you're with Holly and Charlie and Brack
And we'll meet again some day.
We see you at the Rainbow Bridge
Your tail is fully grown
And wagging furiously as you say
"Its ok guys, I'm home."
You're healed now, whole and no more pain
We couldn't wish that away
But our hearts are broken and we wish
We had just one more day......

6 years ago on new years day we went to pick up a red boxer bitch called Krunchie from Corsham being fostered by Jane Pedrick,  She was renamed Frankie and sadly was put to sleep on Monday 5th January due to a bone tumour on her leg.   Being 11 years old and having chronic arthritis in her back legs there was nothing we could do but end her suffering after an xray confirmed the tumour.  She was truly an exceptional dog and couldn't have been more loved.  Her mate Molly the white boxer was there with us when we said goodbye and seem lost without her but will we ever know how they feel.  Frankie and Molly went everywhere with us, days out, holidays, into town to have a Costa Coffee and was a hit with all the customers and staff.  Only the other day a couple sitting next to us at the coffee shop who I have never seen before asked us where our red boxer was, they said they used to see us often there with them.  Frankie was such a good girl with all the dogs I have into groom and the clients got used to treading over her because as always Frankie couldn't be bothered to move.  Our home will never be the same without her. She was a very well behaved and quiet dog, never an ounce of trouble.   The saying that we have lost our Frankie is not right as we haven't lost her as she is here with us all the time. We will pick up her ashes tomorrow to be
with us forever.

RIP our Darling Frankie, Play together with Lulu forever at Rainbow Bridge.

Mummy, Daddy, Molly, Paul, Adam. Kerry and all the grandchildren who miss you terribly. xxxx

.....Thank you for the 4 years and 5 months that we had with Mumble. He passed away in January from a massive heart attack that our vet said he wouldn't have suffered with.
.....Just before Christmas he wasn't himself and although he had always had a grade three heart mummer this had never held him back.  We took him to the vets and discovered that his heart was enlarged and was stopping 4-5 times a minute,He was put on heart tablets and within days was back to his cheeky lovely wonderful self and was able to play with his favourite thing on Christmas day - a toy pig.  At his check up everything seemed great so when he had the heart attack at 1:30 am 17/01/2015 it was a massive shock for us all.
.....Our vets have been great and a firm called Dignity are giving him a well deserved funeral. He has his piggy to go with him. .....Mumble came bowling into our lives he was a cheeky chappie who loved to love you. His favourite things were tearing up toy pigs then playing fetch for as long as you would play it, giving kisses, barking at the postman, vistiors to the house who were always for him of course, His walks brought him great joy he played stick and would even climb a tree if you hid his stick. He swam in the sea and loved trains and going to the castle inn in Dorset for doggie holidays, were he would get sausages for breakfast and chicken and rice for tea.  Last summer he even went on a hover craft and went to the Isle of White. He didn't like the vets and until last August always wore a muzzle there but he got to the stage were he even didn't need that. When we first got him he wouldn't let you touch him or pick him up, when he died he'd taken to sitting on my lap, being picked up.He loved bubbles and in the summer playing in his paddling pool.He was a wonder dog and his kisses will be sadly and greatly missed.
Lots of love
Sally-Anne Harman Jamie and Peter and his doggie friend Ruby (Rhubarb-July 2011 Many Tears dog who we also love she is good at the moment).

Poppy adopted from Many Tears in 2005 - an ex-breeding bitch.  Now in the arms of the angels waiting for me, her heartbroken mum.
Patti












 

I wanted to thank you so much for the two amazing years we had with Cassie, our little deaf ex-breeding cav.  She moved into our house like she had always lived here with our other old cavalier, Pip.  Housetrained in a day and off lead in 3 days!  The happiest, most loving and angelic dog I have ever known.  She has left a massive chasm in our lives.

Although she never became ill, the vet warned us of her weak heart and she passed peacefully in her sleep.

Thank you for the chance no other rescue would grant us.

Ruth Wilson and family

It is with an absolute broken heart that formerly 'Real' adopted from you in July 2010 and renamed  Molly past away last week on 22/12/2014.
Within five days of her feeling unwell and all the veterinary care we could give her it was still an emotional shock to lose her so quickly. She was a fabulous little lab to love, full of mischief and fun, I will love and miss her so very, very much. Thank you for rescuing her and allowing us to love her the way we did. She leaves behind one pining cuddle partner called Kaiser, who is at a loss to know what has happened to her.
Sincerely yours.
Angie

On the 3rd December we had to say goodbye to our Cavy July, who we adopted in September 2012. Her heart condition had worsened  and there was nothing else we or the vets could do. We are just devastated, she had overcome so much and come so far. She had found the joy and fun in life and despite her many ailments lived every day with a happy grin and a waggy tail. We miss her happy dance and yaps of joy at dinner time and for walkies but we can take some comfort from knowing we did our best for her and gave her the life she deserved and thoroughly enjoyed. She is now running around with her sister, June (who passed in August) splashing in a paddling pool and getting up to all sorts of mischief, safe from any harm. We would like to thank everyone at Many Tears  once again for the opportunity to adopt July.
Jane, Ben, Daniel & Josie

Hi Sylvia and all at Many Tears
.....It is with a completely broken heart I have to tell you that our beautiful boy Barney (Feathers) was PTS yesterday. He was diagnosed with Congenital Kidney Disease stage iv and despite being referred and treated by the fantastic team at the Royal Veterinary College Queen Mother Hospital sadly nothing could be done. The vets don't know how he managed to live as long as he has, as he had no recognisable kidneys. We hoped that by giving him fluids and medication he would have longer but he told us he was ready to go. It has been less than a week since the initial blood tests.
.....It has come as a huge shock to us as Barney was a fit and healthy dog on the outside and has never been ill. He was such a beautiful dog. All dogs are special but Barney was extra special. He was super intelligent and goofy in equal measure. Wherever we went people were drawn to him. Unusual for a big black dog! Anyone who met him, human or canine left happier for having known him. He made our world a better, brighter place.
.....He was so clever and loved to learn new things. The things he could do were too numerous to mention but his favourite one is the one I'm most proud of him for doing. I am a type 1 diabetic and Barney learned a command and/or hand signal to find and bring me my insulin wherever it was. I didn't need him to but having run out of normal things to teach him we tried that and he loved doing it. He was a  remarkable boy and we are completely devastated he is gone.
.....Our other Many Tears dog Tilly (Pearl) is doing brilliantly despite her world being turned upside down this last week. She has really come out of her shell since we adopted her and is completely delightful. Having her here is making this awful situation a bit easier to bear, I'm so glad we have her she too is very special.
.....I have attached a couple of pictures of Barney so you can see how beautiful he was. If you hadn't have rescued him we wouldn't have had him and he wouldn't have had the idyllic doggy life he had. Thank you from all of us for allowing that to happen.
Kind Regards
Diane Hamstead

.....It is with much regret that our baby girl Bonnie passed away suddenly on 22^nd September.  She came to her forever home 7 years ago aged about 6 and during that time she gave us so much love and happiness that we are heartbroken.  Our lives and house are so  very empty without baby girl.  She had been used for breeding and not lived in a house before coming to us and though it did take a little time and patience to get her used to household noises etc. it was more than worth it.
.....She loved chasing the squirrels in the garden and going for walks down at the estuary.  She was a ferocious little guard dog who thought she was a rottweiller!
.....She was her Dad’s girl and they were constant companions – you saw one and you saw the other.  The photo shows, I think, the love they had for each other.   However, she was her mum’s girl when Dad wasn’t there!
.....The pup we had with her called Oscar passed away in November 2013 and he was such a brave little boy having diabetes and pancreatic cancer later.  They were always together and he was a loving darling little boy.  A piece of us all went with him when we lost him.
.....Run free and happy together my beloved little ones. Loved and In our hearts always. We’ll see you both on Rainbow Bridge for hugs and kisses.
Mum
Linda James

ROOBEE

Hello,It is with huge sadness that I write this email to let you know that we have had to say goodbye to our beautiful boxer Roobee on 1st October 2014.
She was an absolute angel from the minute we collected her from Sarah and Jan in Bury Port just over 4 years ago,  to the day we held her as she slipped peacefully away.
For the first 5 years of her life she was a breeding bitch and had very little experience of 'normal doggy life' how she made up for it once she was in her forever home. What a beautiful, beautiful girl, who will always have a special place in my heart.
Thank you Many Tears for all the fantastic work you do, and for giving us the pleasure that come from adopting Roobee.
Many thanks
Julie Jones & family

At is with the deepest sadness, that I have to tell you my beloved Wendy had to be put to sleep yesterday, she was diagnosed with a heart tumour in march , and was only given 4-8 weeks, that news was just so devastating, my beautiful ,  beloved dog , so ill ,  but with tons of love and lots of care she carried on happily for a further 6months, she still loved going for walks, playing eating .

  I finally had to make the decision to have Wendy put to sleep, when her breathing seemed like an effort and her abdomen was getting bigger with the fluid, and she just was not comfortable .she wanted to go for walks but she was just getting out of breath,  She was a fighter all through this, she didn't want to give up. She was on medication , which she took every day with no problems at all.

I got Wendy in 2009 , and the minute I saw her I fell in love with her, she is the most special loving dog , and she was loved by so many people. She loved life, loved chasing her ball, loved playing with all her toys and especially loved food and she was the happiest dog ever.
Wendy was constantly at my side, so to lose her has left a gaping hole in my life . I was privileged to have Wendy in my life what an amazing dog she was. 5 years is all I had her for , which is far too short, life can be so unfair, but in them 5 years we had the most amazing times.
I hope your at rainbow bridge now Wendy, you will be well again ,and we will be together again one day. Love and adore  you with all my heart ,
will miss you more than words can say xx

Thank you to many tears for allowing me to give Wendy a special home, she really was so loved and adored.
Xxxxxxxxxx

On Monday 18th August we had to say goodbye to our beloved ABI

Although she was only with us for nearly 4 years it was a privilege to have known her. Of all the boxers we have cared for over the years she has been the most loving and placid dog we have ever known.   She was a real crowd pleaser - everywhere we went we would be stopped and she would be loved.   We know little of her past, but we gave her all we could and she repaid us with such loyalty and love that will never be forgotten.
When we adopted ll month old boxer Filly (now Grace) nearly 3 years ago Abi took her under her paw and taught her everything she knew.   Over the last few months of Abi's life Grace repaid her by looking after her the best way she could.Abi is now out of pain but not out of our hearts she was SPECIAL
When all seemed black the next day we were staring out of the window (in a daze I suppose) until we say a brilliant rainbow (it only lasted less than a minute) then we knew all was well

Margaret & Steve Thompson (& Grace)
 

On the 7th August we had to say goodbye to June.

She had an inoperable tumour in her pancreas, liver and bowel. Fortunately she was only ill for 2 days. Needless to say we are all in utter shock, until two days before, she was running around enjoying life as only a rescued dog could.

We adopted June and her sister (July) in September 2012. During those two fantastic years June had come such a long way, from the tiny little frightened girl we first picked up to a vibrant, happy bundle of love. Each little victory was greeted with the widest doggy grin and a waggy tail, be it the realisation that she had her own warm soft bed, learning what 'walkies' were or even learning to climb the stairs and even cooling off in the paddling pool.

June was the sweetest, gentlest dog we have ever met; we all miss her immensely but none more so than July.  We would like to thank Sylvia and all at Many Tears who gave us the opportunity to have June in our lives.

Jane, Ben, Daniel, July.

It is with a broken heart that I am sending this to let you know that Polly (previously Paris) our beautiful Golden Cocker passed away last week. We adopted her from you in March 2013 and it seems so unfair that she only had sixteen months in her loving forever home. She was an ex-breeding dog who had begun to blossom - the look of sheer joy on her face when she rolled on the carpet or ran through long grass will live with us forever. Poppy our other MT Cocker is missing her, she has left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled. Thank you for allowing her to become a part of our family & for all the amazing work you do. Run fast and free through the meadow grass my angel.
Best wishes
Lesley, Stuart,Ruairidh,Freya,Candy & Poppy

Dear Many Tears,
I wanted to let you know about the passing of our darling Tilly.  We adopted her in 2006 when she was about 5 or 6 years old and she has been the most delightful girl although I do think she was permanently psychologically damaged from her young days. She was always a very nervous girl who would flinch and scuttle away if you surprised her with a stroke she wasn't expecting but we didn't mind. We know she loved us as we do her. We love her like all the owners on your site love their dogs. Her best pal Lucy is lost without her. Our hearts are broken but we will never forget, and will always love our lovely girl Tilly.
Nick Thatcher

Dear Friends
.....It breaks my heart to tell you all I had to say farewell to my gorgeous girl last week. She has been a member of our family for 5 short years and we miss her more than I can say. She has been so brave battling illness, but last week she could not continue.  I want to thank most sincerely a few who have had a huge impact on Amba's life.
.....To Sylvia at Many Tears; thank you for rescuing my girl who was abandoned in a crate at 5 weeks old . For taking her home and saving her life. Then for letting me have her days afterwards when she was so tiny at 1kg. Amba was my first Many Tears foster.
.....To Christina Maunder at Langfords Small Animal Hospital, and to Rachel Tweedle; My Pet Acupuncture. Thank you both for all your advice, support and unlimited professional help. You gave Amba and I the last 8 months together, something we could never of had without you . I thank you both from the bottom of my heart.
.....To my friend Joy, who is there for my dogs whenever I am away - a huge thank you for all the hours of love and care Amba received from you.
.....Amba being the first of my foster dogs has seen more than 100 others arrive here . She has been amazing with all the sad, sick and terrified. She has been a teacher and a friend to them all.
We will be sponsoring a kennel at Many Tears dedicated to Amba, for other soul like her who need to be rescued and found loving forever homes
With love Carol

DAISY

Daisy, ex-breeder, was set free on June 17th.  She had coped with increasingly frequent seizures, bouncing back every time to chase squirrels in the wood.  Over the weekend Daisy was in a lot of pain; it was a shock to discover she had a massive, ulcerated tumour on her pancreas, and the tumour was spreading. 

There was never a dull moment with Daisy on the scene; her eyes were always full of mischief. Daisy loved being touched and would drop off to sleep in an instant if she was gently stroked.

I miss you my sparkling beauty.

Diana

Dear Many Tears,
.....It is with great sadness and heartache that I must tell you that on 4th June our precious little Rosie (Twilight) went to sleep peacefully in my arms.   It was her birthday.   She came to live with us on 13th December 2008, a bewildered, frightened little bundle, looking more like a Cairn than a Westie, her coat was so stained.   Our other little Westie, Millie, welcomed Rosie, took her under her wing, taught her so much, and they soon became devoted to each other.
.....Two weeks after she arrived we were told she had two holes in her heart and wouldn't be with us for long.   She also had a big op to remove a polop from her botty and then ligament trouble in her back leg.   All these problems in the first year.   After this things settled down.   We took her all over the Country in our Caravan.   She loved her food and her bed.   She never learned to play although Millie tried so many times.   Occasionally Rosie chased Millie round the garden but she never chased a ball or played with a toy.   I called her my shadow as she had to know where I was all the time.   We had Rosie for five and a half wonderful years but she still crouched down and froze if we tried to pick her up from behind.   She also wouldn't eat if we watched her, so she always ate alone in the conservatory.
.....In October last year we were told Rosie had an aggressive, in-operable tumour and was given two weeks to two month to live.  (We had always thought that it would be her heart that would take her from us but she never had any problems from that.)   She defied them all - was here for Christmas, New Year, Mother's Day and Easter, but finally she could fight no more.   Rosie was a wonderful, extra special little girl, gentle and loving.   She has left a large hole which can never be filled.   We will love and miss her forever.   Millie is pining.   Perhaps one day we may find another little girl needing a home and I'm sure Rosie wouldn't mind her using her bed and dish.   Rosie bought so much joy into our lives and we loved her so much.
.....Night, night, sweetheart, we hope we gave you some happiness.   We were so honoured to have you.   (Rosie is on left of photo on Dartmoor and the first picture was taken when she had only been here three weeks, curled up with Millie).
Thank you Many Tears for letting us have her.
Dawn & Ray Gulliver & Millie

Dear Many Tears,
.....I am writing to you with the sad news that yesterday evening Ada (aka Milly) passed away.  Ada was an 8 week old collie puppy when we adopted her in July 2010. Last February she had a seizure and was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. Since then she has had many clusters of seizures and was put on medication last August.
.....Sadly last night she began fitting and although was given medication at home, she left for doggy heaven after a short while. She was and is no longer in any pain or discomfort.
.....We want to let you know that Ada was truly an amazing dog, kind and loving, a good friend to my mum's dog Peggy (who we adopted from you in February 2008). She was a character, who loved nothing more than to somersault for a ball, swim in water and wallow in muddy puddles. She was also a wonderful companion, always a smile on her face, she loved her morning cuddles and sneaky bed snuggles with my son Steven (who is heartbroken).
.....We know she is now at rest and peace but we will miss her every day. Thank you Many Tears for allowing us to know her for 4 fabulous years.
Kind regards
Jo Astins xx

On Saturday 25th we made the sad decision to help our beloved Jess over the Rainbow Bridge.  Whilst she was not a Many Tears dog Jess helped lots of foster dogs adjust to life as a pet enabling them to go on to their forever homes having such a balanced dog to live with.  I can't put into words how special Jess was nor the loss we are feeling.
Jane
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Pushkin - you have brought so much joy into my life during the three and a half years we spent together. I remember when I went to pick you up from your Foster Mum and you meowed all the way up the M4. When you came into the house for the first time it was as if you’d always lived here. You loved to sleep on the bed with me but when you decided it was time to get up you would tap me constantly with you paw and rub your head against me until I did get up. I loved to see you walk up and down the plank into the garden, especially when you’d stop half way just to taunt the dogs in the garden next door!  There are many other things – you were such a special little cat and I love you so much. Be Mummy’s good girl until we see each other again at Rainbow Bridge.

God saw that you were tired
He knew you needed rest
You’re in His lovely garden now
He only takes the best

With love from your Mummy xxxxx

Hello Many Tears,
.....My name is Kristina and I would love to share with you the story of Tia, the loving friend we adopted from you in 2010.   We were a family of three women who had unfortunately lost our loving husky, Timber. He had unexpectedly passed from diabetic epilepsy. We were so distraught that we thought getting another dog was wrong. Until a friend referred us to Many Tears. After a casual browse, something caught our eye. Two big Brown eyes to be exact! "Elephant" the Malamute! An ex breeding dog who needed a stable home life with a loving family who would treat her like a dog needed to be treated. Needless to say, we fell in love.
.....After driving to the centre, we were introduced to the lady in question. She melted our hearts! Yes, she was growly and nervous but we were confident we could show her what it was to be wanted. And we did.   After you agreed she would have a suitable home with us, we took her in. We named her "Tia" as a little reminder of Many "Tears" the people who saved her. Wow. She wasn't in the least bit used to being in-house. But we persevered. The little accidents became few and far between. The growling became less frequent. And soon...
..... Over time, she became a confident, obedient companion who would give a little malamute howl when she needed to go to the toilet, a roll on her back when she wanted her belly rubbed and a nudge under our arm when she wanted to go for a frolic in the field behind our house. She came on leaps and bounds. I would stay with her all day until my college couse started and an hour before that, my mum would come home. Anyone who left the house, she would miss. And anyone who left the house would miss her too. She became such an affectionate pooch!
..... As the years when by, her enjoyment of her daily walks decreased and she's tire easily. No problem, we would take her for shorter walks whenever she asked. She was getting older, why make her keep up with my daily jogging routine? Although it was sad to see her getting more tired more easily, we always let her keep up as long as she could. Whatever she felt comfortable with. And when she got home, the look on her face was priceless. A happy dog who'd had her daily dose of fresh air and just wanted to have a happy, lazy rest. She was blissful!
.....  Last week though, she became ill. For a day or two, we thought she may have just had a belly ache. She wouldn't eat and couldn't go to the toilet. We worried. The next day, she perked up! She went for a little trot with me, (not very fast though, but I didn't think I needed to worry) and she fell asleep happily. But the next morning was worrying. Through the night she had kept pacing and panting. She was very short of breath and would not settle. We were very worried.
..... As soon as the veterinary surgery opened, we drove her straight there for what we assumed May have bee. Some kind of stomach problem or chest infection. They asked us to wait for half an hour while they checked her out. And then, after 20 minutes, we were called in. "It's bad news, she's had a heart attack" the vet told us. We were worried immediately. "What can we do?" "Can you save her?" "But she seemed so healthy!" - all these thoughts raced through it minds. But when the vets told us she'd passed, we fell to our knees. Our girl had gone. Our beautiful friend who we'd taught to love again had slipped away. We were in total disbelief. My boyfriend told me it was the first time he'd seen me cry out of sadness. It was a pain we knew all too weak and didn't believe we'd have to say goodbye to this amazing dog so soon. We were heartbroken.
..... A few days later, and we have arranged her cremation. She will be individually cremated and her ashes will be planted in a young bush, planted in her favourite spot in the garden. Her ashes will grow the bush as a symbol of her becoming ever growing love. Which she gave us. And we are so grateful to her for filling our lives with such happiness, and so grateful for Many Tears for introducing us to our loving friend. We cannot thank you enough. And when the time feels right, I know Tia would love us to make another dog as happy as we made her. Thank you, Many Tears, you made ours and Tia's lives so happy.
Tia really did have her forever home. I hope the same realised dream will happen for every other dog you rehome.
All the best of luck,
Kristina, Jodie, Liz and Tia  xxx

Dear Many Tears,
It is a sad time for us as yesterday 16/2/2014 at 14.30 we lost our westie ROSIE (CORA).  It came as a great shock to us as she was only six years old and had been full of life and fun. Rosie will be greatly missed, for her little ways were so gentle and precious, always wanting to give you a wash when picked up and keeping her dark eyes on you if we were in the kitchen, there she would be waiting in case a tip bit came her way. She was not a demanding dog but always there for us this is what we miss oh! so much.  Rosie was sitting beside us when her time came, which was a horrible shock as she laid down and went to sleep.
Having Rosie with us has been a wonderful experience giving of so much love both ways, which can never be replaced.
God bless you all for the love and joy that comes out of Many Tears
Yours sincerely
Mr and Mrs Lamont

.....It is with great sadness that I write to tell you of the passing of our wonderful Kip.  We adopted him from you in February 2007.  He had come from a place near you where he had been harshly treated.  He was aged 2 yrs. Since being with us he blossomed and became everyones’ favourite.  He had the most wonderful nature and always wanted to please.  He passed all his obedience tests within his first 9 months with us.  He went on to learn agility and did some competing with success.  He loved it and was so fast.
.....He always accepted the other dogs that we adopted after him and at his passing lived with 2 other shelties, a papillon and a chihuahua. 
.....He became ill in August and had ultrasound scans and a liver biopsy.  It was found that more than half of his liver was not working.  He has done well since then on various tablets but had gone down hill again recently.  The vet could feel very enlarged lymph nodes.  He had given up eating and had had enough.  It was a very sad decision, as you know only too well, but the only thing we could then do for him.
.....He was the youngest of our gang which makes it even harder to bear.  But he loved life for the last 6 years 11 months and I thank you for allowing us to give him a home.  He was a treasure.  When all the insurance is sorted I will send a donation in his memory towards caring for another needy soul.
.....Thank you so much for everything you do for the dogs.  You are an absolute star.
All the very best.
Carolyn Harper.

 
.....It is with so much sadness that we had to have sweet Pixie our yellow/white cocker spaniel put to sleep on January 23rd 2014.  She was losing so much weight and had so many health problems it was breaking our hearts to see her going downhill daily and the vet could do no more for her.
.....We had her from Many Tears on a lovely sunny day on Saturday 10th October 2009 and as soon as I saw her it was love at first sight.  She was such a sweet girl loved everyone and everything - food and treats at the top of her list of course - and she always had a smile on her face and was loved by all who met her.
.....She had her special little Pixie face and we absolutely adored her.  She loved stretching out on the sofa and always pulled down a cushion to rest her head on or snuggled into one of our other dogs or our cats. (Pixie is on the lead in the picture as she had gone blind but still loved her walks)   We miss her so much and she will always be in our hearts.  Run at the bridge sweetheart where we will meet again one day.
Heather and Chris xx

We had to let our border collie Floss go last week she had a heart condition and despite the vets best efforts stopped eating so we had to end her pain.  We adopted her from you in September 2008 you thought she was about eight years old and we collected her from a fosterer home she was a wonderfully soft dog great with adults, children and other dogs a real barker when we first had her but with work she got better stopping when told.

She was a real mums girl and loved a cuddle and would sit forever if she was being brushed and with a long coat she needed regular brushing.  The only thing she hated was postmen possibly the ill treatment in her past we were told about by here foster mum was by someone in uniform, she and our other dog Rosie (Della) an exbreeding cocker spaniel bitch we adopted from you in November 2008 were great friends and we are going to scatter her ashes in there favourite walking place, although I suspect rosie loves it more because of the old barn who do teas and dog treats on weekend mornings if she vanishes I always know where to find her.

We bought them back to Wales last September and left them in your kennels for a few days while we had a short break in the area.  I have done some vetting for you in northampton area and am always happy to do so in the future, and am glad Floss had five happy years with us.
Tina Oxborough

November 28, 2013- 4:30 a.m.
Wilma died today. She was almost 16 years old and travelled with me to this country from the United States. Wilma was and always will be very precious to me. She and I went through some tough times together and there were instances when she probably saved me life.  We also had some truly wonderful times as well and, Wilma was my "seed" soul whose presence in our home allowed me to have the first of my three MT little ones.  I am so grateful to Wilma for all the love she has given me over the years - I will always love her and she will live on in my heart forever.  Wait for me at the Bridge Wilma--we will be together again I promise.  Run free my special, special girl.
Love from you Momxxxx

Today (18/11/13) is a very sad day. Megan fell to sleep in our arms this afternoon. She was such a special little dog and although we rescued her at the age of 10 we had the most amazing 2½ years with her. RIP my little princess sleep tight xxxx

Thank you Many tears for giving us the opportunity to adopt Megan. We are all devastated by her loss.
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.....Dream our beautiful ex Many Tears  Border Collie, who we adopted in February 08, passed away on 07.11.13.
.....Dream was our 3rd foster dog, and we couldn't bear to let her go, so we adopted her ourselves.  She was an ex farm collie who didn't know how to play. My husband was determined that she would learn, and with the help of some wonderful people in our local Flyball team, over 18 months  she grew to love playing ball. She even went on to take part in a couple of 'starters' events in flyball.
.....She had been ill over the last month, and finally it all became too much for her little body to cope with.  She was the perfect dog, and her name matched her exactly. Dream by name and Dream by nature.
.....There will never be another dog like her, and  we will miss her always.
.....We would like to thank Sylvia and Many Tears,  for giving her the chance to be loved, to learn how play.

Darling River, your bright intelligent eye, alert  ears, sweet panting smile, unconditional loyalty.  A 'lick' of my hand 'please take me out' daddy. Tilting head and cocked ear, waggy tail another nudge of my hand. Beaming smile, a laugh, excitement, as we go out together. You look at me as we trot. River, you were God's child, not a dog to me. As age has taken you, we will meet in a meadow, and your swinging and wagging tail will bemy comfort to see you alive again. 
God Bless River, all Collies and those who rescue them.
Bless you River
Love Mum and Dad xxxx

 
It is with a heavy heart that I write to tell you about the end of the road for my  beloved little Tri Colour Cav, Jilly, (formerly Jolly) whom I rehomed from Many Tears in April 2007.

She was put to sleep today following a stroke.  I held her in my arms and she slipped away very peacefully.  Jilly had a high grade heart murmur and was on medication but was a game little girl who followed me everywhere.  

Thank you for bringing us together, she lit up my life and all those who knew her.  I will miss her hugely.

Kind regards

Anne Edmunds

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of our beloved dog, Winnie. She passed away on Wednesday morning at home with my husband. We will miss her more than we can express, she was a wonderful addition to our family and we could not have asked for a sweeter companion. She was highly intelligent, funny and endearing. She had incredible zest for life and gave us 15 months of joy. Many thanks to all at many tears for all your help and especially to Anne Louise for all her care. The Watkinson family.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of our beloved dog, Winnie. She passed away on Wednesday morning at home with my husband. We will miss her more than we can express, she was a wonderful addition to our family and we could not have asked for a sweeter companion. She was highly intelligent, funny and endearing. She had incredible zest for life and gave us 15 months of joy. Many thanks to all at many tears for all your help and especially to Anne Louise for all her care.
The Watkinson family.

I am very sad to have to tell you that Saffie (Shelby), the beautiful border collie I re-homed from Many Tears 10 months ago, passed away last week. We are all devastated as she had settled in so beautifully to the household and was much loved by all. She broke in to the compost bin and ate some very mouldy old food which, despite immediate and extensive Vet treatment, she wasn't able to recover from. It was very unexpected and a tragic accident. I felt that I ought to let you know. But she did have a very full and happy time with us and brought a lot of laughter. She was doing very well in obedience classes and was about to begin flyball training. I am so sorry to have to share this sad news with you.
Kandace Tiala

.....My husband and I are devastated at the loss of our faithful companion Willow who had to go to Rainbow Bridge yesterday.
.....We adopted her from you in 2006 from the Centre.  Sylvia had to carry her out to the shed to meet us as she was so poorly and told us we didn't have to take her if we weren't sure.  Of course we fell in love and brought her home and can honestly say that she was so grateful for her new life. We never had any trouble with her. She was always a gentle loving companion but sadly never had the best of health.
.....We have lost two of our MT dogs in just over 12 months. Both were ex-breeding dogs. Although we have broken hearts right now we will always have room in our lives for another rescue dog as they give so much back if you have a little patience.
Jane Morris

.....Our darling Mabel has died. She had pancreatitis but despite spending a week at the vets she was so ill we had to have her put to sleep on Saturday 28th Septenber. She fought so hard, but her poor body could not take any more so we had to let her go; we visited her everyday, and we were both with her when she died.
.....We brought her home and buried her in the bottom of the garden where she loved to potter. We covered her with a stone from our local beach where she liked to walk and we have planted winter cyclamen and spring bulbs on her grave. We miss her so much, the house seems so quiet without her; she would get excited and bark at squeaky noises like the garden hose being unreeled, and the tin opener, but it is so silent now. The cats miss her, but poor Lily (Bumble) was very sad and subdued at first, but she is a little better now. Although she has always been the most outgoing of the two she always relied on Mabel to be there to run back to. When the time is right would definitely like to adopt a little ex-breeding bitch as a friend for Lily, there will never be another Mabel, but we think she would have wanted Lily to be happy.
.....The photo shows Lily and Mabel (Mabel is the one in the blue lead) at our village fete in August, they won first prize in the rescue dog category, everywhere we went people adored them both and wanted to cuddle them; one night in the pub we thought that we would not be able to get Mabel back because she was so popular.
.....I wish with all my heart that we could have given her a longer life with us, in the end she only had about a year (six  months with us and five with Dee) of a happy, normal life. My husband says that given a choice she would have chosen a year like that than ten years of her previous life, and I think he is right.
.....Safe passage my darling, you will never be forgotten, Mummy and Daddy will always love you; we hope to see you again someday.
Lissette and Bill.

.....Just thought I'd let you know, Sophie who I adopted from Many Tears 3 years ago, previously Estralla went to Rainbow Bridge 16th September this year.  Sophie didn't have Epilepsy after all........ as Jo suspected, it was more than that. Sophie had a brain tumour.  She had a course of steroids which improved her quality of life for a couple more months only.
.....My heart is broken, shattered..... She  was just 4 years old and I thought I would have her for years. Sophie was the most beautiful stunning little yorkie ever.   Please include her on your Rainbow bridge page. Sophie was sooo so incredibly loved and cherished and lived a beautiful life full of love and cuddles and snuggles and the best grilled fish and chicken and fresh tuna steak, fresh poached cod, along with her Royal Canin biscuits.  Sophie's little life may have been short but what she had with me and Brandy and latter stages with Tilly were amazing and full of love!
.....Every time death part us from our precious rescue dogs, there does indeed flow many many tears. But Sophie runs free and well and whole again with  my precious Max who was my first rescue from MT some years ago with grade 6 hear murmer, and my precious blind Leo aged 13 with grade 3 heart murmer who was my little one eye'd shi-tzu from the Mayhew rescue in London.  All 3 are now united and running free and whole and happy together in the same place Sylvia's precious ones have gone this year.
My love to you all always
Ann XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear Sylvia and Team,
......It is with great, great sadness that I find myself having to let you know that our beloved Poppy-dog finally fought her last fight on Monday 16th September.
......We collected Poppy from Many Tears on 23rd December 2011, a poor, dishevelled, scared and worn out little urchin! On Christmas Eve, we realised that she had a nasty cough and took her to the vet, only to find out that she had Westie Lung. After reading all the information on the internet, we knew that the prognosis was not good, but resolved to make her last 18 months - 2 years the happiest a dog could ever have!
......We went through all the usual challenges of an adoptee, and she took most of it in her stride, house trained in two weeks, walking on a lead was more of a trial for her and even after 18 months, she could still freeze at the most awkward places, like in the middle of a busy road!!
......She went on holiday with us and our Jack Russell - Snitch, and absolutely loved the beach, running through all the water while Snitch tiptoed and jumped over the pools, then she delighted in rolling over in the sand. Poppy was never happier than when she could roll in mud, or in the wet grass and get as dirty as possible. I would see all these lovely clean westies on their walks and then there would be Poppy, covered in mud, but hey, she was happy!
......We decided in July this year that we would get another Westie from you, but before we did, Poppy had her 6 monthly check up and her lungs were obviously very crackly, but her heart was strong and there was no reason why she shouldn't go on for quite a while longer.
......On August 31st little Delia (now Amber) arrived into our family, Poppy took her under her wing straight away. Amber slept in the same bed as Poppy and Amber became her shadow.  She introduced her to house training and walked with her when we went out, and she even tried to show her how to play. Poppy would have been a fantastic mentor.
......On the Saturday after Amber arrived, Poppy suddenly had a different sort of cough to her usual Westie Lung hack, and I got in touch with the vet who put her on antibiotics straight away. ......Unfortunately the cough didn't get any better and she was put on different antibiotics and a stronger dose of steroids. On Sunday 15th, she took a turn for the worse, the vet came out at 10.30 pm and gave her some injections to make her more comfortable including a strong steroid , I sat up with her all night. On Monday morning we took her back to the vet and realised the kindest thing to do was to have the pain taken away and at 10.15am with me hugging and kissing her she passed over to the other side. She is now pain free, running along and playing with all the other dogs and finding the biggest, muddiest puddles to splash and roll in. Have fun little Poppy-dog, till we meet again.
Regards
Nicky

.....It is with sadness that I have to tell you Pixie went to sleep yesterday.  We took Pixie (MT name Christie) on as a foster dog, and  when the time came for someone to show an interest we could not let her go and adopted her ourselves.
.....Pixie came to us from MT's  after having been found wandering the streets of Dublin, having taken 2 hours for the MT staff to catch her, and only doing so as she was so exhausted and simply gave up.  We took Pixie home Easter 2011, the MT foster co-ordinator knowing that we would always take a Staffie on, not being frightened of the breed as we had a boy from pup already.
.....She grew her fur back, she put on weight, (probably a little too much a few times, so had to diet)!  She learned how to trust humans again, would try and sit on your lap if she could, and above all else stole our families hearts.
.....After suffering what we thought was a stomach upset, made worse by the current heat wave, the blood tests came back with Liver problems, jaundice and Cushings Disease.  After deliberating that she was possibly 12 years old,  (so a little old lady), she would require constant medication, and very probable further attacks of vomiting etc on a regular basis, therefore the kinder option would be to let her fall asleep.  I held her paw, my husband held her head in his hands, and she fell 
asleep with the contact she so loved.
.....She is now with Bella (our female staff we lost a year before adopting Pixie), no doubt eating grass, waddling at snails pace but being the cheeky little madam that she was.  The photo shows her helping herself to the remainder of my daughter's milk!
Samantha Horne

Dear All at Many Tears,
I have been dreading sending you this email and feel very sad to tell you but we lost little Ely on 25^th May.  Unfortunately Ely had been suffering with canine epilepsy for over 2.5 years.  We tried absolutely everything you name we did it but he took a turn for the worse and knew this time he was not going to bounce back, so we decided to let him go this was the kindest thing to do. He was such a brave lad and know he will be missed by many he was a real character.  I remember the day like yesterday 6.5 years ago when we picked Ely up, he was so small wearing a knitted jumper and snuggled in a cat basket and I couldn’t wait to get him home.  We miss him so much and we both feel so empty.  It is hard not having him around asking to go for a run in the fields or badgering me for a treat.  We tried our best and the last 2.5 years have been an emotional roller coaster.  Although Ely has given me many fantastic experiences and memories.

I would just like to thank you for allowing us to have the pleasure of having such a beautiful and wonderful dog and he will never be forgotten.

With Love,
Paula & Ivan xxx

It is with great sadness that Tyler, our gorgeous English Bull Terrier went to Rainbow Bridge on the 3rd of June 2013 after her kidneys failed her.  Sadly the toxins were poisoning her and there was nothing we could do to help her.  She was only 3 years old, was the most loving, caring and friendliest dog anybody could meet.  Her passing has left a huge hole in our hearts, one that can never be filled.  Sleep tight sweetheart, we miss you so much.
Lots of love, Mummy & Daddy xXx

.......

It is with great sadness that our eldest girl, Pansy, had to be pts today after an inoperable tumour she had on her shoulder ruptured today. She was 14yrs 8mths old and first arrived as a foster dog with us in December 2011 - then thought to only have 6 weeks to live. She is now reunited with her sister Daisy who sadly died in February.
RIP Pansy, lots of love Mummy & Daddy xxx

Phoenix was 2 year old ex-breeding girl who was rescued by Many Tears. Her life came to a tragic end on Monday 29th April when 11 days earlier she managed to run from her foster home. We tried so hard to find her.  The first week we had no sightings until she was seen running from a field. Let's hope that first week she had fun running through the field with the sun on her back and eating food left out for the foxes. Phoenix only had such a short time of being shown love and affection but in that time she stole the hearts of all she met.
Phoenix (Mable) I'm so sorry we didn't get you back home safely. Run free little one, now you are safe and pain free at Rainbow Bridge.
Good night, God bless. xxx
Naomi

I’m absolutely devastated to be sending you this email to let you know that my beautiful,  one in a million girl Nala, has passed away.  She came to us on “foster” four years ago, absolutely terrified but despite this made her own mind up that she was already home and wasn’t going anywhere despite having visits from potential adopters.  She was the most kind, gentle natured girl who never wanted much other than to be as near to you as possible, a comfy bed or sofa and a nice walk. She was so loving and so devoted to me, rarely leaving my side. I was so fortunate and blessed that she came into our lives.

Sadly she suffered from continual ill health and never fully recovered from a bout of Acute Hepatitis just before Christmas and then went on to develop a brain tumour.  Our sense of loss is immense is overwhelming and the pain unbearable at the moment, she was such a huge part of our lives and loved so very, very  much.

Nite Nite darling girl, wait for me at the bridge, love you always xxx
Adrienne

Hi, I wanted to let you know that very sadly we lost our lovely boxer girl Roxie (was Trixie ) to cancer 2 weeks ago. We got her when Kevin was fostering for you and went to see her and her friend. It was actually her friend we thought we wanted but when we got to Kevin's she just came straight up to us and wiggled her entire bum, she chose us.

She was fit and well until a few weeks ago when she started to hold her head slightly to one side almost like a small stroke had occurred but after further examination she was found to have a large internal tumour that wasn't treatable as it was in her neck, we had her on strong painkillers and anti inflammatory but she went downhill very quickly and couldn't eat anything other than puréed food but even then she struggled.

Very sad for us all as we had her for 7 years and she was very much part of the family with our other 3 dogs.  I have attached some pictures of her so you can see how lovely she was.  On her last day she laid out in the sunshine which was always her favourite place in the garden.  She was so strong and brave but had become a shell of herself when we took her on her last journey.  We were there cuddling her at the end and when she went all her pain went and she looked so relaxed and years younger again, like the old Roxie.

She will be running along now with our other boxers Diesel and Boston, no doubt bossing them all around.  Roxie is the brindle boxer with short tail and Gambit who we also rescued from Many Tears is the black boxer x lab!
Dawn Fenton

Sadly Rickie our gorgeous Many Tears foster pup,  went up to Rainbow Bridge on Thursday the 21st March 2013. Rickie (or Sam as we called him or Samson when he was being a naughty monkey) was stunnningly beautiful  with his gleaming black coat.  Yes OK his right ear was only half an ear as a huge chunk was missing and yes - he just kept growing upwards so he ended up looking like he was on stilts but he had the most gorgeous gorgeous soft face and he was a gentle boy - truly he was. The house is so very very quiet without him even though we still have other furbabies here, and we miss him so much you just can not write down how much.  Even though our hearts are broken, Georgie and I both agree we would foster him all over again if we could, as we had the total pleasure of knowing him , cuddling him and not loving, but adoring him.         

    Sam was only six months and when he was x-rayed to see why he wasn't walking or when he did he was weak on his back legs.  It showed spine problems and was advised by the specialist that we should let him go.  We wanted to say no as we all do inside to ourselves when we are told this but we all do what's right for our furbabies.  Sam had several good months which he actually walked and turned without falling but a few weeks ago he seemed to be stiff on one of his back legs so we e-mailed the office to ask for painkillers as we felt he was in pain though not terribly. We then several days later took Sam up for his usual weekly accupuncture with Jo the MT vet and she agreed his leg was a bit stiff so we took more painkillers with us.  Several  days later Sam had his x-rays and we were given the tragic results.  Although all this is so very very sad please be assured Sam had a fantastic few months, he played with our young dogs here on a good day standing up, on a bad day lying down and the dogs would lie down with him and play.  He loved his food and cuddles  and he slept with Georgie and her two shelties every night.  Angus was his best mate and it was lovely to see them play.  We will love him forever and a day.

Goodbye our sweet Sam see you up at Rainbow Bridge one day my beautiful boy.
Love you
Maz, Georgie, Angus, Willow and all your other friends here . xxxxxxxx                

For Freddie
My first foster boy who I adopted
Love Mummy
 

"I'll lend you, for a little while, a soul of mine," God said.
"For you to love while he lives, and mourn when he is dead.

It may be six or seven years, or maybe two or three,
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?

He'll bring his charms to gladden you, and shall his stay be brief,
You'll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay, as all from Earth return,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this soul to learn.

I've looked the whole world over in my search for teachers true,
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes, I have selected you.

Now will you give him all your love - not think this labour vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call, to take him back again."

I fancied that I heard them say, 'Dear Lord, thy will be done.'
For all the joy this soul shall bring, the risk of grief we'll run.

We'll shower him with tenderness and love while we may,
And for the happiness we've known, forever grateful stay.

And should the angels call for him much sooner than we planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes, and try to understand."

If, by your love, you've managed, my wishes to achieve,
In memory of him you've loved; be thankful; do not grieve.

Cherish every moment he filled your home with joy,
Let not his passing take from you those memories to enjoy.

"I will lend to you, a Soul", God said, and teach you all you have to do.
And when I call him back to heaven, you will know he loved you too.

Author Unknown
 

For Emmie
With all my Love
Mummy xxx

I Only Wanted You

They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.

A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.

Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.

By Vicky Holder

Wendy arrived at Many Tears a few years ago and was already a very old lady. She settled into her new life very well and absolutely loved to be outside on the grass enjoying the sun shine.

When Katie joined Many Tears to care for the horses Wendy soon had her trained as to who was boss and to always carry treats in her pocket and let her decide whether she had her tea with the other horses or in her stable.

Very sadly Wendy became more and more uncomfortable and so yesterday when we could not longer ease her discomfort we made the very sad decision to put her to sleep. She will be very sadly missed by us all.

I am writing to let you know my precious little baby died on Wednesday 27th March.  When I saw her on your site it seemed like a sign. It was the anniversary of when my mum had died and her maiden name was Gamble.

  Despite her life she had a light at the back of her eyes. She spent days shivering on a corner of a chair, only leaving it when we had gone to bed. I could hear her tentative steps,then she took a toy back to 'her' chair, then after a few days she crept into our bedroom (we live in a bungalow). After about a week she had progressed to sleeping on my clothes which I left on the floor for her.It didn't take her long then to jump on the bed every night. She was amazing. We thought she wouldn't house train but in fact within a few months she went from 'going' in the house to conquering her fear of the outdoors and 'going' outside. She had a 'tell'. If she wanted to go out she would stand and look at me until I noticed her then she would shimmy from side to side. 

  She learnt how to answer to her name, learnt perfect recall,which meant going offlead in fields, how to play with toys. She loved helping me to make our bed, which turned a quick boring chore into a very long enjoyable game. After freezing when I first picked her up she learnt to enjoy being cuddled and would always sit on my knee at night.

  We had a glass storm porch built and Annie loved sitting there watching the world go by or warming her bones up when the sun shined (she loved the sun). If she saw me looking at her from the kitchen she would fly down the hall to me, tail circling thirty to the dozen, head nodding up and down, little body twisting and turning as she ran to greet me as if she hadn't seen me for years (probably, in reality, it was only about 5 mins).

 I don't think her 'smell sense' had developed when we had her. When we first encouraged her to go out and she had progressed to a walk,she would just walk at my side. We have a caravan and go away regularly all over the country, Annie soon learnt to love these times. On one particular walk Annie was walking by my side as usual when she suddenly did a comical double-take, went back to a patch of grass and stood there fascinated. I couldn't work out what was wrong until I saw what she was doing-going along very slowly sniffing everything and I mean EVERYTHING. From then on any walk became a long slow ramble with Annie stopping constantly to examine and sniff all she found. We may not have walked far but Annie's pleasure had increased hundred fold. 

  I can still remember the day when her tail gave a tentative wag,it brought tears to my eyes. She wagged it almost continually after that. The day she broke into a trot, then a canter then a run was one I'll never forget. We were in a field and she was pottering about as usual when all of a sudden she started trotting, then built up to nearly  full blooded run. The look on her face as she was running free, with the wind blowing through her hair, I swear if you could bottle that look of pure unadulterated joy and happiness we would all be millionaires.

There was another side to Annie though. I know some people say dogs live in the here and now but I still believe they carry all their memories with them. She never learnt to be near men. My son only managed to gently stroke her head.  Every night she would try and bite my husband. It was strange because he was the only one Annie would take food from out of his hand. He gave her all her treats. He was incredibly good with her.  It sounds daft but he never tried to stroke her beyond her head (she bit him once when he did), never picked her up. She would sometimes run across the lounge and bite the back of his ankles, we could never work out why. She would hurl herself on my other dogs and have a fight with them. If they were walking, even on the other side of the lounge she would run across and attack them. She never learnt how to play with them.  She was always ready to turn and defend herself. I think,because of her history,she was never able to fully trust anyone or anything.

On the Tuesday she was fine, eating her breakfast and dinner, playing with her toys. Then about 6pm she whimpered in her sleep,something she had never done before. She woke up and started panting a bit. We took her to the emergency vet who gave her pain relief, anti-this and that. In the morning we took her back and saw a lady vet. She gave her heart injections and diuretic injections. She put her in an oxygen cage, letting me stay with her. It eased her a bit but she started panting again the minute she came out of it.  She said she should keep her in for tests but she knew Annie's background and said she wouldn't do that because the stress would kill her, her heart was so bad. She was unsure if anything could be done even to a dog with a normal history. She gave me some pills to take home but I think she was just giving me a bit of time. In the afternoon Annie got worse. I had her with me and she looked at me and put her paw on my arm. The light that had always shone out of her eyes had dimmed. It sounds fanciful but I felt her say to me 'please let me go'. We went back to the vets and saw the same vet. She was so kind. She said she would give Annie a heavy sedative first to make it as peaceful as possible. She sprayed some anaesthetic on Annie so she didn't feel the injection. She left Annie and I alone, I spoke to Annie telling her how much I loved her and  thanking her for being in  my life and for all she had taught me. I realised how fragile her heart was, her breathing kept stopping and struggling to start. Before long she had slipped into a heavy sleep and then the vet came back in to do what I hate them to do.

My heart is breaking for that courageous little girl. She only lived free for nearly 4 years. It wasn't long enough. People say 'oh but she was a good age', at least you gave her a good life' but none of that means anything. My prayer for Annie is that, in death, her poor tormented soul finds the peace that, in life, she never truly found.

Goodnight,my precious, lovely little baby.

I
have just had to make the hard decision of letting Daisy, the 14yr old Lhasa Apso go to Rainbow Bridge.  She had had a chest infection and had got worse overnight, and sadly the vet thinks she had pneumonia. 

If you remember, you rescued her with her sister Pansy, who we still have, but they were in such a bad state, you thought they both had about 6 weeks to live.  She had 14 months of being spoilt and loved here with us! 

I stayed with her whilst she fell asleep and she is to be buried next to Pumpkin the Beagle in my friends orchard.  I'm sure she will make him tow the line at Rainbow Bridge, as she did here.

Good night Daisy Duke, we miss your cantankerous ways already!
Love Mummy & Daddy

We adopted Dee Dee from you in May 2010, she was an ex-breeding girl.  She was very frightened when she came home with us but over time she blossomed into a confident beautiful girl.  Dee loved feeling the sun on her back and would spend hours laying in the garden sunbathing.  She also loved her soft 'donut' bed, which she spent lots of time in!  Dee was not blessed with good health and was diagnosed with Cushings in March 2012, then in October 2012 Dee had surgery for four slipped discs, she was so brave and was determined to walk again, which she did achieve. After this operation Dee was never really the same again, her spark had gone and she was frail and weak.  Dee recently became poorly and started to decline.  On 12th February 2013 we made the heartbreaking decision to let Dee go and we feel she was ready to go, she passed peacefully in my arms at the vets.  We are so grateful for the time we had with Dee, although it wasn't long enough.  Dee was so gentle and kind and we miss her so much, she was the best little girl in the world and she knew she was much loved.  Thank you to Many Tears for rescuing Dee and helping her onto a new life.
Karen & Paul Grange

Dear Many Tears
I adopted Bliss from you in January 2012, after she had been fostered by Lorna and Pete Milton in Didcot. She was a wondeful little dog, so gutsy and brave despite her terrible 7 or 8 years as a breeding bitch. She loved everyone and every other dog she came into contact with and they all loved
her back. During her too short time with me she put on 2 kilos in weight, her coat thickened and she learned to wag her tail, not to mention bossing me and my other Westie around. She was an absolute joy and it broke my heart to have to let her go on Sunday 10th February, due to cancer of the womb,
which had spread to other parts of her body, including her brain. Despite my pain right now though, I wouldn't have missed the privilege of knowing and loving Bliss for anything. I was so proud when my vet named her as one of her heroines of the year.

Bliss is the Westie on the right of this photo, shouldering her way forward to the camera while Meg, as usual, holds back. It would be lovely if you could put her details and photo on your Rainbow Bridge page, so others will know what a special girl she was. Thank you again for allowing me to have Bliss in my life.
Best wishes
Lesley Blundell

On Monday 28th January 2013, our adopted Trixie(formally Caffine is the pup on the left) passed away in my arms. We never new how much we would miss her. In her short 4 years we had her, she gave us so much love and fun that we did not expect I cannot put it into words, but we were honoured to have her, part of the family.  The vet told us that there was no cure as it was Kidney failure, God bless her and keep her. 

We adopted Trixie on the 22nd November 2008 at the age of six. A little while later we adopted Me-Me (the pup on the right a so started a wonderful relationship wear one went the other would go. Now Me-Me misses as much as we do.

Thank you Manytears for giving us the opportunity of loving the pups we have adopted, thank you once again.

All our love goes out to all the people and pups at Many Tears.
Yours sincerely,
Mr &Mrs J Lamont.

This is a courtesy email to let you know that our beautiful beagle Fax whom we collected from yourselves had to be put to sleep 3 weeks ago.  We had 7 wonderful years with the old boy and he is a companion that will be dearly missed.
Thank you for entrusting him to us.
Mrs S Catney

We are very sorry to have to inform you that Moomin (named by us as MIndy) passed away on Sun 13 Jan. We are devasted to have lost her after such a short time and feel so sorry that she hasn't been able to enjoy a longer and fuller life. We collected her from Ann-Louise in Birkenhead in Oct 2010, understanding that she was 4 yrs old, had arthritis in one shoulder and was still wary of being touched. She travelled home with us (3 hr journey) sharing the back of the estate car with our Welsh collie, Freddie, and with our daughter's small lurcher (a frequent visitor to our home).

All the dogs accepted each other happily and we were delighted that Mindy and Freddy enjoyed playing together from the start. It had been suggested that exercise should be built up gradually so that muscles in Mindy's arthritic shoulder would gradually strengthen so we tried to avoid over-taxing play and, in any case, were exercising her on the lead only for the first few weeks.

The first time she was let off the lead (on our usual country track well away from traffic) she just raced away across 2 fields before returning to us, encouraged by Freddy. She showed no sign of discomfort and on subsequent walks stayed closer to us but still enjoyed moving quickly. However, colder weather coincided with her starting to show signs of walking unevenly and painfully. Our vet had already said that he thought that Mindy was  at least 6 and more likely to be 8 yrs old.  X-rays showed that she had severe dysplasia in one elbow and  a serious neglected injury in the other. The growth spurs on the deformed bone would cause severe pain and inflammation on movement. In fact  he had 'never seen anything like it'. It was terrible to realise that we had allowed her to make her situation worse but with permanent medication, and very restricted exercise at first, we were gradually able to build up to longer but not very energetic walks. She loved her walks and her food but, although following us around the house or garden, still remained a bit 'anti social', certainly not appreciative of any stroking.

Then, 9 months after she had joined us, we went on holiday - 2 adults and 2 dogs in a small 2-berth caravan. We came home with a different dog!  Whether she realised that we all belonged together wherever we were or whether sharing a very small 'bedroom' did the trick we don't know, but from then on she gradually grew more responsive and affectionate. For the last year we have seen her 'character 'develop and she has become more and more a typical labrador - apart from not being able to run and play. Her one fault was trying to scavenge for faeces, a habit we have tried hard to break.

Recently she was on on antibiotics because of D&V and so late afternoon walks (in poor light) have been on the lead so that we could watch her carefully.  On Sat evening  we  met a couple with their 'rescue' collie which played with Freddy but  suddenly snapped at Mindy. She yelped and twisted round and round on the lead then ran round my legs still yelping. We could see no mark anywhere and were sure that there had been no actual contact. As soon as the collie was led away Mindy seemed fine We finished the walk and returned home where both dogs rested for an hour (as usual) before being fed. All seemed to be as normal that evening and at bedtime.

I woke at 7am on Sun morning and, as usual,  went into the kitchen, switched on the fluorescent light which flickered as I opened the door for Mindy to go into the garden. As usual I switched on the outside light expecting to see Mindy rolling on her back on the lawn before having a wee but there was no sign of her. I called but she did not appear, and, even with a torch, it was a while before we found her in the border huddled against the fence.

With help she managed to walk towards the house where we could see that from her ribs to her tail she was extremely swollen. We rang the emergency vet, dressed quickly, de-iced the car and reached the vets before 8 o'clock but by then her whole body seemed distended and she was unable to stand.  The vet suspected a twisted stomach but was able to pass down a tube without a problem and an x-ray showed only 'perhaps a slight tilting of the stomach'. However the x-ray did show that spondalosis was beginning to develop.

In the meantime large amounts of gas and fluid were drawn off and we were told that she was much more comfortable. We were advised to return home, awaiting a phone call as to whether she would come home later that day or continue to be observed overnight. At 1.30pm the vet rang to say that Mindy had been doing well but suddenly bloated again and passed away within 15 mins as they were releasing the gas.  Neither the emergency vet or our own vet seem sure of the cause of the problem but have indicated that 'something else may have been going on' in her system or with an organ. Whatever the cause the trauma was just too much for her body. Our only consolation is that she has been spared the pain of the deterioration of her elbows and spine - especially as the medication may have proved less effective in time.

For such a quiet, undemanding and, at first, undemonstrative girl she has left a huge gap in our lives and the whole extended family are shocked and deeply saddened by her sudden passing. We wish we could have had longer together but our two and a bit years of  our faithful, loving and loveable 'shadow' are much treasured.

If only the people who give dogs like Mindy such a bad start in life could be stopped.
Thankyou for all you do.
Carol Milner and David

Tegan was one of the lucky dogs to have been saved from death row in Ireland. We feel it was fate that were visiting Many Tears when she arrived in a starved and terrified state. We nursed her back to health and rebuilt her confidence to learn to live life to the max again. In return she has given us 5 years of sheer joy and happiness and it has been a gift to have shared our lives with her. She will be sadly missed but happily remembered.
John & Dawnte

Dear Sylvia
I am writing with some very sad news, we adopted Blue (previously Chiles) 5 years ago. Blue had been dreadfully starved and had suffered so much in his short life. Blue was diagnosed with a condition called pica most likely brought on from being starved. The vets warned me that this condition would kill him (following the removal of a can from his stomach).

On 17th January Blue was rushed to the vets and died within 3 hours. He had eaten something that ruptured his intestines and he had internal bleeding, there was nothing that they could do.

This was the last photo taken of Blue at Christmas, we are all absolutely devastated. We hope that in time the pain of losing a member of our family will ease.

We want to thank you for saving Blue and giving him the opportunity to experience love and kindness with us. I can't bring my beautiful gentle boy back but I would like to help you save more dogs like him, so I am sending you a donation in Blue's memory.
With love
Helen & family xx