Goodbye Bentley

Bentley riding a boat in Mexico in 2005

Today was a truly, deeply sad day for us in the Lewis family as we said goodbye to our dearest Bentley after 15 years. He was nearly 16 years old, which is "good innings" for a dog his size, and he was healthy and happy until the very end.

After picking Bentley up from the kennel on Sunday (Dec 31st) at noon, and having him all happy and wiggly and bouncy like his normal self, we got home and he went downhill very rapidly. The kennel people had said that he had a dodgy tummy with loose stools the past couple of days, but that is sort of normal for Bents so we didn't think much.

But then on New Years Day he just laid around, drank a lot of water, and wasn't interested in buttered toast (which was his favorite). By late afternoon he couldn't walk properly and he kept trembling / shivering for no apparent reason. We just snuggled with him and let him sleep wherever he wanted, and kept trying to get him to eat something. This morning we took him to Alex the vet in Forest Row, and Alex took one look and said that his time had come. There was no question and there were no options. We took our time saying goodbye to him, holding him and cuddling him close, and I stayed with him in my arms until after his last breath had gone. He went quickly and calmly, without resistance. But it was so, so sad. The four of us spent the rest of the day grieving and sharing memories about him.

We were truly grateful that we could all be there to give him the best send off a dog could have. This was a special day in that regard, since it was the one day of grace between the holiday period and back to work/school which starts tomorrow. Bentley definitely knew how much we loved him, and he also had a bit of a reputation due to all of his adventures and close calls with danger (some called him "Bentley Nine-Lives"). He was a pretty special dog and he stole the hearts of a lot of people over the years who will be sad to be reading this. But we buried him in the back garden in front of his favorite hole in the hedge. This is the hole he would always sneak through to get to the wider world of other people's backyards. Now he has gone through the "hedge of life", but we can visit him whenever we want, and that is a nice thought.  We are really going to miss him.
RIP, dear Bents. You were a great friend to me and to all of us.
Hope you can go keep Grandpa "Meat Guy" Carl company up in heaven.