Beamish from Spain

"Beamish was a gorgeous puppy and dog. He went to training school with his sister Molly for two years, which he thoroughly enjoyed but loved to just plod along at his own pace. Being tall and elegant, the attention he got was touching. People always stopped us along the sea front here in Fuengirola, Costa del Sol, to ask what breed he was and to hear his story. Even as a puppy, he revelled in the attention, loving every moment.   Walking along the promenade with Beamish and his sister Molly, we would stop to sit on a wall, and buy two bottles of water which the dogs would drink like lambs from milk bottles. This used to fascinate passers-by. The only thing Beamish didn't like was being brushed.

In October 2009, after suffering from a spinal complaint, he developed a lump in his back left leg and we immediately took him to a trauma vet. But our luck wasn't in: he hadn't torn a tendon as we had thought - it was cancer. The vet told us we would only have two months with him, and to let him live a normal life, but at a slower pace. It was a huge shock to us as our other dogs had lived to a great age.

Beamish had come to us an unwanted puppy at eight weeks old and was put to sleep on 2nd December 2009. It was and is hard to comprehend that our gentle giant was only five years and eight months old, but what wonderful memories we have of this most placid and beautiful dog, even though it was for such a short time.  We love you Beamish. You are always in our thoughts . . ."                                                                                                                Gillian and Brian Oliver