The owners of Joe have been in touch to say that he has recently passed away.
Please see below for his epitaph from his owners.
Hello, It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the passing of our beloved rescue dog Joe.
We collected Joe from the Warrington kennels in 2003, a very timid little fellow of about 18 months who had been rescued by NWESSR.
It took about 7 months to get Joe’s trust and he was very frightened of men in particular.
After a week of getting acquainted with our cat, Mr Smudge they became lifelong friends, Joe so upset when in 2010 Smudge passed away, that after a few months we got him a new companion a Springer pup called Fen.
Back in 2006, Joe did a very remarkable deed. Sue had taken Joe for a walk at lunchtime and on returning to the house, collapsed on the drive losing consciousness. No one was about to help and Joe pulled and tugged Sue to the back door licking her face to bring her around, which worked and she phoned for help. Some four months later Sue returned from the hospital.
The medical team had diagnosed her with septicaemia and a large DVT. The consultant said that without Joe’s prompt actions Sue may well have not pulled through. As it was, she was never able to return to work.
Joe also had quite a few health issues starting with fits in 2009, he battled back, in 2014 he had a stroke, he came back to health. In 2015 he started to go blind and had surgery to relieve the pressure in one eye. Joe adapted and would use the light/ shade that he could see and of course his excellent sense of smell to navigate his way around.
One day visitor did not shut the gate properly and off he went for a walk on his own with a clear purpose of taking himself on a favourite walk. Fortunately, a good neighbour spotted him and brought him home.
Such a joy to be with, such a friend and a determined fellow we thought he would last forever…
Sadly as we all know that is not reality. A disabling fit took him away so quickly. One moment he was walking in the garden an hour later our precious friend was gone.
Since his departure, we have taken Fen, our now six-year-old Springer, out and revisited many of the places we went with Joe and the happy wonderful adventures we had.
Joe had walked up many mountains and hills, had a swim in rivers lakes and the sea, not to mention lots of muddy places!
Joe changed our life for the better and we will always be grateful to NWESSR for bringing us together with Joe.
Kind Regards, C & S Johnson.