A Man’s best friend 2.

Above are five photos of Tess which make up a wall picture of mine. She was a cross bull terrier which I got from Hull Animal Welfare Centre, South Cave. I was initially worried she was going to be aggressive and back then (early 2010s) people were still wary of them with them having an unnaturally large, powerful jaw. She turned out to be little or no trouble and I was very sad when she died. I state ‘died’, in fact she was ‘put down’ by a vet in circumstances I found unsatisfactory. She was clearly ill, in fact more ill than I realised, and under anaesthetic she was found to have a massive tumour in her stomach area. When the vet rang to tell me she was still sedated and it was advised she be put down without recovering consciousness. This I agreed to and set off to see her one last time before her end, it wasn’t far away. On arrival I was told she had been put down and was ready to go to the crematorium. They hadn’t waited ’till I got there and I didn’t see her. Her ashes were scattered in a field gateway near the top left photo – Bridge Lane, Horkstow (N. Lincs.).

The other locations shown are – top right, Tess struggling in deep snow on Saxby Road (small country lane), N. Lincs. Centre right – at the seaside, I’ve never had a dog willing to go in water beyond ancle depth. Bottom left – Tess in grassy headland in Cadwell, an area just east of South Ferriby, here immediately above the low sandy cliffs beside the Humber. Bottom right – Tess at the bottom of the perimeter embankment at Fort Paull, east of Hull and beside the Humber.

More to follow.