Aslan

 

Last Wednesday my beautiful Aslan was euthanized.  I was totally unprepared for this; I thought I was taking him to the vets’ for antibiotics for an infection on his front leg.  The vet diagnosed bone cancer in Aslan’s front leg.  With his wonky hips and elbows, coupled with his huge size, amputation was not an option.  The only thing I could do for my gorgeous boy was end his suffering.

Aslan has always been a very stoic dog and determining if he was in pain proved very difficult.  As a pup, he slightly favoured one leg.  It was almost so slight I could have ignored it, but felt the vet should check it out.  X-rays showed that Aslan had dreadful hips and elbows, with his hipbones barely in the sockets.  I was given daily medication for him and he began to walk more normally and enjoy playing chasing with Cleo.

The vets’ was one of Aslan’s favourite places to be.  He was always sure of an enthusiastic welcome by the staff, and often, other clients.  The first time Aslan visited the vet was for his booster injections and a general health check.  Rose, the vet who examined him, was instantly won over by the pup’s very laid-back approach to life.  By the end of the visit, she had informed Aslan that he was her new, favourite patient.  Aslan took this as his due and they remained firm friends to the end. 

Rose always took time to stop and say hello to Aslan even when he wasn’t the patient.  We took Cleo to the vets’ once and Aslan came along for the ride and to keep Cleo company.  When Rose saw us in the waiting room, waiting to pay our bill, she asked how Cleo was, then asked where Aslan was.  I told her he was in the car with Graeme, waiting for Cleo to come back.  Rose said, “I’ll just go out and tell Aslan Cleo will be fine,” and with that she headed for the car where, Graeme reported rather bemusedly, that Rose did indeed tell Aslan all was well with Cleo before she and Aslan caught up as old friends do.  I was so glad Rose wasn’t on duty the last time Aslan visited the vets’.

Aslan came into our lives when he was ten weeks old.  I’d purchased him from a breeder in Queensland via messages, photos and phone conversations.  Cleo was an only dog at the time and she has always been a very nervous, anxious personality.  We hoped a young friend would make her feel more secure.  The breeder, a lovely lady, preferred to hand deliver Aslan, rather than sending him down by air pet carriers.  I was relieved to hear this because I too would worry about the pup being distressed on the journey.  So Ann, the breeder, drove down from Queensland and met us at her friend’s house in Goulburn. 

My first site of Aslan was Ann coming out to meet us with this little fluff ball following behind.  For me it was love at first sight.  Whenever Ann moved off somewhere she would say, “Follow the feet,” and Aslan would be right there behind her. 

Aslan settled in beautifully at Spring Rock.  Cleo took him to her heart the moment he arrived.  After a good sniff from head to tail, Cleo decided this fluffy little scrap was hers, and Aslan who last saw his mother a few days ago, was happy to be adopted.  They were inseparable after that.  Wherever Aslan was Cleo was right behind making sure her pup didn’t get into any trouble.

At first things were a bit fraught with Graeme  Every morning Graeme would go outside, ready to start his farming day and every morning, one of his shoes would be absent.  I think it must have been Aslan, because it didn’t happen before he arrived.  Graeme would voice his displeasure to the dogs and demand his shoe.  I invariably came out to join the search, after reminding Graeme that, a) the dogs didn’t speak English and had no idea of what he was cross about and, b) they had most likely taken off with the shoe long before he came out, so were not likely to link his anger with their deed.  Eventually the shoe would be found – it was rarely in the same place twice, making the hunt for the shoe a challenge.  Thankfully, this game ended eventually and Graeme’s shoes remained safe from light-fingered dogs after that.

  

Aslan and Cleo shortly after he arrived at Spring Rock

Aslan’s quiet, laid-back attitude to life never left him.  He was always a calming influence with Cleo who was just about the exact opposite.  When the unexpected happened, Cleo would react immediately, usually barking at the new visitor or mob of kangaroos or echidna that turned up close to Cleo’s home.  Aslan would wander out to see what the fuss was about, realise it wasn’t worth the effort of getting excited about (I never discovered anything Aslan thought was worth getting excited about), and stand near Cleo as moral support.  Aslan excelled at moral support.  Aslan’s huge presence usually quietened Cleo and she was able to relax, unless it was Edna the Echidna visiting.  In Cleo’s mind, Edna need constant barks to remind her that this was Cleo’s home, not hers.  Aslan took his usual live and let live approach to Edna’s visits, but remained behind Cleo in case she needed back up.

 Aslan’s trips to the vets’ were one of his favourite ways to spend a few hours.  It started with a ride in the car which he always loved and then being met by his adoring fans, both old and new, and then finished with a ride home in the car.  How could it get better than that?  The ride was preceded with getting Aslan in the car, which was not one of Graeme’s favourite things.  When Aslan was a pup, this wasn’t much of an issue.  Graeme would usually pick Aslan up, put him in the car and then stand back as Cleo made her attempts to join Aslan.  They usually travelled everywhere together, even when only one of them was visiting the vet.  Assisting Cleo into the car wasn’t a big problem because Cleo eagerly helped with the process.  When Aslan grew too large to lift we tried the Put Half The Dog In The The Other Half approach.  Aslan would stand with his front legs on the tail gate and wait for Graeme to lift his back end in as well.  He always turned his head to supervise Graeme’s efforts, but offered no help at all, despite being keen to get in the car.  Getting Aslan into the car was clearly Graeme’s job and Aslan would not mess with the order of things.  Once in the car, both puppies settled down to enjoy themselves. 

Aslan receiving his vaccination certificate and making life long friends with Rose.

If it turned out to be a vet visit, so much the better.  As I mentioned earlier, when Aslan was six months old, we discovered he had bad hips and elbows.  We were also told Aslan’s knees were perfect, which wasn’t much consolation.  Aslan was put on anti-inflammatory/pain killer tablets that relieved his hip and elbow pain and let him lead a normal Saint Bernard mostly inactive life.  These tablets required six monthly blood and urine test to check his body was coping with the medication.  Aslan was all for six monthly visits to his fan club.  The only fly in the ointment was the scales in the vets’ waiting room.  Aslan suspected them of nefarious purposes and did his best to avoid standing on them, despite everyone’s effort to entice him onto the rubber pad.  Mostly the vet would decide to estimate Aslan’s weight rather than lift him onto the scales, but on one rare occasion Aslan was on the scales long enough to record a weight of 78 kilos.  This weight was recorded and used as a guideline for most of the rest of his life. 

Vet visits were always a social outing for Aslan and Cleo.  Aslan’s big fluffy appearance, coupled with his quiet personality, attracted people like moths to a flame.  It wasn’t unusual for me to be stopped multiple times on my trip from the car to the vets’ door by people who just wanted to meet Aslan.  On one memorable occasion, a queue actually formed while the first person patted and admired Aslan.  Once inside Aslan was greeted as a long lost friend by the staff.  The receptionist or vet nurse in the waiting room would then go out back to tell everyone Aslan was here.  Clients in the waiting room often came up to talk to him and Aslan took all this as his due.  He accepted compliments and pats with the air of a celebrity meeting with his fans.

Actually, come to think of it, there was a second fly in Aslan’s ointment with vet visits.  Aslan was scared of little dogs.  Anything Kelpie size or larger was fine.  If their owner brought them over to say hello to Aslan he would wag his tail slowly, and bump noses happily.  If the dog was smaller, especially the small, white, fluffy variety that seems to abound at our vets’ practice, Aslan would get a look of panic on his face and try to hide behind my legs.  It was difficult to convince small dog owners that my huge boy was scared of their little dog.  They’d look at their dog and then look at Aslan, trying his hardest to attain invisibility, and then look at me as if I was mad.  Eventually it would be proved that Aslan was not comfortable meeting their small dog and the owner would usually pat Aslan and tell him he was a funny boy or similar.

With that unhappy event behind him, Aslan would then be taken out the back by a vet or vet nurse for his tests.  I’d hear all the welcoming hellos and cries of delight that accompanied Aslan’s arrival out the back and then wait for his triumphant return.  The person returning Aslan always had good things to say about his bravery when facing the needle and his personality in general.  Aslan would nod in agreement with it all.

At home Aslan would join in games with Cleo, if she insisted, endure baths – not his favourite activity – and generally brighten everyone’s day.  There were a few exceptions though, the most memorable was the time I fell and hit my head on the concrete septic tank top.  The retractable hose knocked my feet from under me and I came down hard on the tank.  I called Graeme for help, but he was down in the shed and couldn’t hear me.  Cleo and Aslan, on the other hand, could.  Cleo came bounding around the house to see what help she could give and Aslan followed at a much more sedate pace.  I couldn’t see Aslan very well, because I had a face full of Cleo, but Aslan too was determined to be of help.  While Cleo kept me distracted, Aslan turned chiropractor, put his great big paw straight down on my neck, and proceeded to walk over the top of me, putting his not inconsiderable weight behind that paw.  I feel very lucky he didn't snap my neck - as soon as I felt the paw on my neck alarm bells rang in my already ringing head.  I managed to grab his leg as he walked over me to reduce his weight, but a lot of Aslan's weight (and there was a lot of Aslan's weight) managed to get through anyway.  After Aslan’s impromptu neck adjustment, he sat close next to me and proceeded to share his drool.  I eventually managed to get myself up despite all the help Cleo was giving me and Aslan was pleased that he’d done his mite and everything was right with our world again.

I could go on and on about the joy I had sharing my life with this wonderful, gentle giant.  He was always unflappable, kind hearted and loving.  Aslan brightened every day of my life while he was in it.  He also brightened the day of those who met him, firstly when they were impressed by his size and later when his lovely personality shone through.

Seven years was far too short a life for this amazing puppy.  I miss him every day.  Cleo is not coping well.  She keeps looking for her best friend and whining when he doesn’t show up.  She carries her squeaky toy with her everywhere, whether as a comfort, or in case Aslan turns up and would like to play, I’m not sure but she never lets it out of her sight.  Cleo and I mourn our loss together. 

Thank you for sharing your beautiful, but far too short, life with us Aslan.  We miss you.