Last Sunday, the 29th of March we said goodbye to Monty after a wonderful 11 years and 3 months with him. His stories began back in 2011 and I can’t leave this very long chapter without sharing with you his final story. He has made us smile since arriving with us as a seven week-old puppy and it’s fair to say he even managed to leave us as he arrived, in true Monty style.

Somebody said in one of the lovely comments we’ve had since he passed that the reason that Monty was so popular was because everyone could relate. That was always the idea. It wasn’t about saying he’s the best dog in the world, but telling his stories of simply being a dog in the strange world that we’ve created. Every toilet mishap, chewing episode or embarrassing incident with a stranger are things we’ve all been through. Sadly when the time comes to say goodbye it’s once again something that we will all have to experience.

We had known about his condition since he went for tests at Liverpool University Hospital at the start of 2021. He had been slowing down and struggling with his mobility and so got him referred. Despite scans, x-rays and blood tests nothing was really found other than a touch of arthritis which was pretty much expected in a ten year-old Newf.

It was at this point that we learned that degenerative myelopathy was a condition that was described when everything else was ruled out. The prognosis was poor in the fact there was no cure and he would get progressively worse. The only positive news was that it was pretty much a painless condition.

For the next twelve month we tried everything we could to try and prolong a good quality of life for him including, Hydrotherapy (which he hated), Physio, Chiropractor sessions, anti- inflamatories, joint supplements painkillers, Librela injections and even a daily tablet of Lions Mane Mushroom which we’d read about for possible nerve regeneration. We also had the ‘Help em up’ harness (which he really hated) and a sling we could throw under him to help him up. He also hated this and on the days that he struggled if he saw you coming with it he would quickly get himself up, however much of a struggle it was.

It’s hard to say what if anything helped but I think we saw the best improvement with the Librela. Either way he carried on right through 2021 with some small declines and then periods of plateauing but overall he was still very much enjoying life. He was going for short walks and still managing to run at the front door to scare the postyman or in fact any delivery person that dared to come to ‘his’ front door

As we got into 2022 Monty celebrated his 11th birthday and we did notice a marked decline. It was at this point that I contacted Anita, a vet who had set up Eternal Paws. This was specifically to offer home end of life care and cremations at their own private facility.

As soon as I spoke to her I felt a huge weight lifted from me because I knew that when the time came it would be in a way that we chose and Monty would leave on his own terms. Anita was wonderfully spiritual in a way that focused on our needs and more importantly on Monty’s. There was no pressure and everything was hugely flexible which took that whole issue from our minds.

In early 2020 I had started to built a Pergola with a roof to give the dogs more shelter in the winter. This quickly turned into a very large garden room with walls, windows and a perfect Newf access door. We could sit in there whatever the weather and Monty absolutely loved it. He spent all of his time in the there and he would just lie at your feet until into the evening when he’d get up and get into his regular position in front of the TV.

We knew that when the time came that was where we’d want to say goodbye to him and where he would be relaxed and happy. As January ended he had deteriated quite a bit and I called Anita to have a chat as I didn’t want to keep things going simply for our sakes. She was fantastic and went through a kind of check list/quality of life score and as I spoke to her I realised he was still happy to be part of the family. Though he’d stopped walking he was pottering happily around the house and still jumping on to the sofa from time to time.

As we got into February though he developed a growth on his eye and despite steroid cream and drops it remained and was increasing in size. Our Vet said it could potentially be a tumour and with everything else it was obviously at the forefront of our minds.

Throughout February and into March his decline was quite steady and by the time we got to mid March we knew that time was running out. He no longer went to the door when people came and he couldn’t manage the sofa. His incontinence was worse and he was stumbling and falling over more. So it was on Saturday the 26th we sat in the garden room and came to the decision that I’d contact Anita.

Monty was outside asleep as we spoke but suddenly he walked in and came over to me. He just licked my hand and then turned round and lay down. We had been told many times we’d know when he was ready and we were sure. He was tired, he’d had enough.

Last Sunday morning Monty had plenty of attention as the family all came to spend time with him and say goodbye. He had bacon and chin scratches which was pretty much his favourite things in life and he had a lovely final morning happy and relaxed with his favourite hoomans.

As we sat in there I picked a playlist for some background music which was about six hours long and a mixture of songs that were all fairly upbeat. We’ve been through this before with previous beloved ones as I’m sure most of you have, so you know the feelings we were having at this point.

When Anita arrived she was everything we knew she’d be, very calm, respectful and professional. Monty was immediately relaxed and we knew we had made the right choice for him.

We cuddled him and spoke to him as the procedure took place and just at that point the song that was playing ended. As we all sat there with tears streaming down our faces the next song started. It was at that point we knew Monty was still very much with us.

The song we’ll always remember that played the last time we were all together. The Bee Gees…Stayin' Alive. We all just looked at each other and laughed - tears still flowing. He left the way he’d arrived. Making us smile.

I have thought a lot recently about how I’d carry one the social media stuff but I really want to find a way. I know for a fact the books will continue with all of the dogs. After all they are the wigwam gang and there are plenty of stories left to tell.

So Monty was right, he knew. He’s Stayin’ Alive.