Those with pets will understand the loss of a fur-friend…
BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nicky Campbell made the tough decision to put his beloved dog, Maxwell, to sleep yesterday as he was nearing the end of his life. An emotional Nicky said: “Maxwell was a lovely, lovely, beautiful boy, and I’ll miss him so much.”
Today on his BBC Radio 5 Live show, Nicky spoke to listeners all over the UK about the impact of the death of a pet. Isobel lost her dog after 16 years said she has never had grief like it, and she’s lost a parent: “he grew up with my children and booked holidays just so he could come.”
Fin’s dog used to playfully sit it in front of the lawnmower and when he died, he broke down and cried. He was put to sleep last July: “I underestimated the impact of his death.” Peter is putting his dog down this weekend: “It is the right thing to do. I just feel guilty that you’re letting him down. He’s suffered a lot – he was a rescue dog. He started walking into stuff losing his vision.”
Martin said the loss of his first dog was harder than loss of his father: “He gives you so much joy. You owe it to them to be there for their death – to ensure they’re not scared or lonely. It needed three or four injections to kill him off. He was there then he wasn’t.”
Tim’s greyhound broke his leg, and his age meant there wasn’t much they could do: “The waiting was the worst – he was waggling his tail all day. I started blubbering for five minutes at the vets.”
You can listen back to the Thursday 21 March episode on BBC Sounds.
