Tango's page

This is what I call my little man, my little spesh, my Ting Tang, and all the silly endearments you use on a dearly loved companion. We’ve been through quite a bit together, travelled many miles, made many friends, had some super highs, and some depressing lows, all in the name of competition. .
After Jet decided Obed. Comp was not for him I started thinking about another dog, My friend Nicky, told me about a litter bred by a top handler and should we have a look, We travelled to Northampton and chose a pup each, Nicky had a little female, called her Indy and I had Tango. He is a little sweetie and looks so sweet and mild,........... but looks can be deceptive, he is one of the toughest little cookies I’d ever trained, he could do it all and do it well, but it had to be done ‘his way’ and at ‘his pace’ which was two feet in front of me, and no matter how much you tried to tell him ‘heel’, he’d soon get in front, at the same time having a crafty look round to see what others were doing. he was damn hard work, but we did well,  when he was on the ball we won or got highly placed., making it to Championship status.
 He’s now thirteen and age is beginning to catch up with him, his hearing is going, and he does silly things, like going off up paths he has never walked, he’ll stand at the hinge end of the door and stare at it, then look confused when it opens at the other [proper] end.
It seems that dogs can also contract the ailments that affect humans with age. I find it so sad, to see such an intelligent animal gradually go into decline. This condition is actually Canine Dementia, which speaks for itself, The decline was quite gradual and at times was amusing and sometimes rather annoying, and more than a little sad.
How little did know how much he would deteriorate so quickly.
 In June 2012 I went to America for a holiday, and by this time Tango’s illness had progressed quite a way, He'd had an operation to remove a benign tumour from his underparts, and he had recovered well.
 I didn’t want to leave him, but as  the holiday had been booked for some time and my daughter was going with me it wouldn’t be easy to cancel. He and Ruby were being looked after by my good friend Sue,  I just prayed he’d still be there for me when I got home and fortunately he was.
When it was obvious that time wasn’t on his side, I prayed again we’d have one more summer together, and we did, even though it wasn’t a brilliant oneweatherwise but we made it. In October  he started to get stressed during the night, and  was becoming more and more disoriented, not realizing where his water bowl was and forgetting why he was put out in the garden to ‘get busy’ he’d just stand in the rain. I hoped he would last till Christmas but that was not to be,
 In mid October I realised that life was becoming too much of a burden he couldn't walk far and just lost interest in life, He’d had enough, he just couldn't give me any more, and it would be selfish to expect it,
 With a heavy heart on the morning of 17th October 2012, after a stressful night, I called the vet and asked them to come and give him peace. We went for one last walk which he could only do about 50 yards, went home and  laid on the carpet together, the sun was shining in the window, I told him how much I loved him and talked all sorts of things till the vets came.
 He died in my arms at 12.30 am…………..Thus another piece of my heart was broken Sleep well my little man, I hope you've found your way to Rainbow Bridge, I hope you’ve found Jet and you’ll be playing in the waves like you used to, with plenty of plastic bottles to play with, Say hello to the rest of the family, look out for Tarc, he’ll take care you, don't take any flak from Whisper and give a special kiss to Numa and tell her how sorry I am, If I could change things I would.,
 Tell them there is one more little dog who will join them one day, so keep a space for Ruby. I pray we will all meet again and Oh ! what a day that will be, we’ll have the biggest party that has ever been.
There is now another family member who will be looking for friends at Rainbow Bridge when the time comes, I'll keep you informed when it's Zak's turn too. Not in the near future I pray.