Skip to main content

Bailey - In His Shadow

Bailey - R.I.P.
Our English Cocker Spaniel, Bailey, passed away recently. He had an aggressive, inoperable tumor in his abdomen that sent him into a relatively rapid decline within the course of a few weeks.

Unfortunately we had to make that dreaded decision of pain over quality of life for a much loved family member. Bailey was struggling with going to the bathroom and holding food down. He was no longer able to go for walks and his enthusiasm for barking at next door's cat in our front yard was getting less and less.

Despite all this he still had moments where he seemed perfectly fine, even wagging his tail.

Our vet seemed to think he didn't have long with such an aggressive tumor, particularly if it ruptured, which would cause Bailey to bleed to death. Not a nice way to go, and something I experienced first hand with our cat, Casper.



We had a lot of support from friends who came along when Bailey received his diagnosis. Whilst we were all hopeful it was going to be a better outcome, it wasn't a complete surprise either. We just thought Bailey would have more time. Out vet estimated a couple of days.

---o ---o--- o---

Bailey was an impressive dog. I know this because he'd get noticed all the time out on walks. People would comment on his golden coat as well as his general size. He was unusually large for a Cocker Spaniel, with massive front paws that always made it seem like he had more growing to do.

Unlike many Cocker Spaniels he still had his full tail. Cocker Spaniels his age typically have had their tail docked (though I believe this practice is illegal now), and I can easily see why one might for damage control. Bailey was not very spatially aware of his placement within his surroundings. Our little black dog, Oscar, learned to anticipate Bailey's tail after being hit in face from it wagging so many times.

It wasn't just his tail that could be an issue as it took Bailey quite a while to remember not to just turn himself around quickly, indoors, without any thought as to what was around him. He banged the side of his head, hard, into so many walls and pieces of furniture it was astounding that he never knocked himself out cold.

Although Bailey had the nicest temperament he was often misunderstood on first impressions. He came to us as a rescue dog at the age of about 6 years old. Whilst we didn't know his early life (after leaving his parents - who we did know), his last owner was so frustrated with him that he wanted him gone ASAP, under the threat of having him put down.

Bailey came to us with
his own Thunder Shirt.
That owner, as I understand it, used to keep Bailey in the backyard with a muzzle on to try and stop him from barking. Which he would do excessively if a thunderstorm went overhead.

Whatever happened in his past, it left him with one unfortunate quirk that gave the impression he didn't like people. Whenever anyone wanted to come over and meet Bailey for the first time, I had to warn them, do not put your hand out for him to smell (as many people are taught when approaching a new dog for the first time).

For some reason Bailey would see this as a threatening gesture and was guaranteed to lunge straight at the person's hand, intending to bite, but never hard enough to break skin. It was more of a warning than anything else, and it tended to make him seem vicious and unfriendly with strangers.

However, even with people he'd snapped at, if you just let him do his own thing, without trying to pat him, he'd be completely fine in less than a few minutes. He might even come up to get a pat or some general attention like nothing had ever happened. It was just the initial meeting you needed to get right. So many people still put their hand out, even when told not to. Bailey would seem fine, then suddenly lunge.

To help we got him a bright yellow harness and lead with 'Nervous' written on it in large, clear lettering. Nervous wasn't really accurate but it at least made people stop and think before reaching out to him.

Bailey's other issue was other dogs, when out on walks. If, at any time, another dog came too close (within 2-3 metres) Bailey would bark uncontrollably at them and even attack if they got close enough. Even though we had a dog trainer come in to help us try and solve this behavior I never could get him to stop every time successfully.

Meeting other dogs on a leash was always a battle, where sometimes I could get Bailey to sit quietly, but mostly I couldn't, without me getting really aggressive and looking like a dog abuser.

Coming across other dogs that weren't on leads was a complete nightmare that I'd avoid at all costs (keeping in mind that I always walked Bailey and Oscar together and Oscar had a tendency to mirror Bailey's behavior).

Another dog coming in too close, too quick, would result in an immediate fight situation between Bailey and the incoming dog. The number of times I've had to reach in and grab a completely unfamiliar dog by the collar and hold it apart from Bailey whilst trying to stop Bailey from attacking is more numerous than it should be.

Other dog owners have often misunderstood my move, thinking I'm trying to stop their dog from hurting mine. Unfortunately it was the other way around. Bailey had already had a pretty ordinary life before meeting us. The last thing I wanted for him was to be labelled a vicious dog and potentially be put down due to the stupidity of other dog owners not controlling their dogs.

This inability of Bailey to be nice with other dogs in my presence (I've been told he was fine with other dogs when we've booked him for a stay at a kennel) along with his warning bites ultimately ended up isolating us from other people walking their dogs.

After about two years in I just got tired of trying to fix his behavior. Instead we'd go for walks when the park was likely to be empty. I also had several different routes around various walking trails and paths in our town for both variation and reducing the chance of bumping into other people with dogs.

Despite all of this, Bailey never attacked Oscar aggressively when they first met. It may have been because Bailey was in unfamiliar territory, or it may have been because Oscar is a very social dog. He loves meeting other dogs, especially if they want to play - or at least he did at the time we met Bailey.

Right from the get go Oscar would try to play with Bailey and Bailey seemed to respond. Their epic games of chasey and play fights often ending up with Oscar being 'air humped' by Bailey in some weird act of dominance.

This photo is of a pause in one of Oscar
and Bailey's epic play fights.

Oscar was always persistent. No matter how often Bailey managed to get Oscar to roll over and conceded defeat, Oscar would get right back up again and continue the fight. I have an epic series of videos of the same fight where Bailey, completely worn out, rolls over in an attempt to concede and Oscar still keeps going - despite being puffed himself.

The two of them would play less and less, largely due to Bailey's age, I think. It became harder for Oscar to get him to play with him. However Bailey was always up for a game of tug-of-war, using one of his toys, with me right up until a month or so before he passed. As well Oscar and Bailey would remain united over the problem of next door's cat in our yard - even in his last weeks.

---o ---o--- o---

Bailey is the first pet where I've been part of the decision of whether to euthanize before their quality of life becomes horrendous. Both myself and my partner were kind of hoping he'd drift away in is sleep before the day we arranged with the vet  to have him put down in our home. Unfortunately drifting away was not really on the cards for Bailey.

The most likely outcome seemed to be his tumor bursting. Then it would be a rush to the vet for a similar end to our cat, Casper. We didn't want that for Bailey.

Instead my partner held him as the vet gave him some drugs to relax and send him to sleep before being injected with a final dose that would end his time.

The whole process was tough, sad and very heartbreaking.

I watched close by, holding Oscar. I noticed, after Bailey was injected with the first round of drugs that he seemed to relax into the most peaceful sleep I'd seen him have in ages. (Bailey was something of a fitful sleeper, often twitching and waking up howling).

Whilst I was fully prepared to try and save Bailey, with operations etc. the vet didn't give us that option. Instead, we gave him, what we hope he would have wanted, and what we wanted for him, a peaceful end, drifting off in his sleep... or at least as close as we could get to making that happen.

Bailey will always be remembered in our home. He was my partner's 'dream dog' - she'd always wanted a Cocker Spaniel. There was a time when I was younger that a Cocker Spaniel was my dream dog too (that's why one of my very first cartoon characters was a Cocker Spaniel called 'Chips').

Bailey... with his entourage.
For me, Bailey was pretty much my shadow, unless my partner was home. Then he'd shadow her. He was the kind of dog that needed to be in someone's company. If Oscar was getting too much attention... or any attention at all... he'd come over and make sure you knew he was there for your attention too.

I personally think this image (right) my partner took, captures Bailey pretty well. He clearly is the center of attention, with Oscar and I in his shadow. People just noticed him wherever he went but I think he was pretty glad to have us as family for the last four and a half years.



Comments

  1. I wonder if Dr Harry could have cured his barking? It's usual to put your closed fist towards a dog for it to sniff first, but don't know if this would have worked. Sad he had to go. He would have been 77yrs old if he was 11yrs, as one dog year equals 7yrs. R.I.P Bailey. :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Open or closed hand didn't matter with Bailey... he'd give you just enough time to think things were okay, then he'd lunge with a warning bite.

      Given time and training any good trainer could've helped us to fix Bailey's behavior around other dogs. Neither of us really had the time or the money for regular, ongoing behavior training.

      Delete
  2. RIP Bailey. Sorry for your loss David.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated by an actual human (me, TET) and may not publish right away. I do read all comments and only reject those not directly related to the post or are spam/scams (I'm looking at you Illuminati recruiters... I mean scammers. Stop commenting on my Illuminati post!).

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

Book Review: Brand It Purple by Ashley Knoote-Parke

Ashley Knoote-Parke. Image: Facebook It seems almost redundant to review  Brand It Purple  given you probably won't find a hard copy edition without digging into the second hand market. The book's author and publisher, Ashley Knoote-Parke, seemingly, disappeared off the face of the Earth around about 2015. Which is a story in itself. However, the book is still a very informative guide and, while not specifically targeted at women, many may relate more to a book written by an experienced female entrepreneur. Brand It Purple is a personal marketing and branding guide released in 2009 by then, star on the rise author, Ashley Knoote-Parke, an English born, South African expatriate, who made Adelaide, South Australia her home. There she started her own publishing company releasing a photographic, coffee table book of South Australian sights, along with books showcasing female, then male, entrepreneurs. As well she published 'Brand It Purple'. I came across the b

Movie Review: Force of Nature - The Dry 2 (2024) *No Spoilers*

Eric Bana returns as Detective Aaron Falk in Force of Nature - The Dry 2 , and that's the only real connection between this and 2020's  The Dry . This is an all new mystery set in a new location. I will say, given that it's either wet or rainy, with the incoming threat of a major storm for most of the movie, the filmmakers really missed a trick in not renaming the film, The Wet. Back when I reviewed the first film I noted that I would love to see the second book made into a movie too, and here it is. This time Aaron and his detective partner, Carmen (Jacqueline Mackenzie), head into the mountains to investigate the whereabouts of a missing informant, who disappears on a workplace, team bonding retreat. All the performances in this film are easily on par with the first, though I do think some pretty outstanding actors really didn't have a lot to do here. In terms of mystery the first movie was better constructed as a who dunnit film you could play along with. Here you mo

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'