Don’t let another good dog die needlessly

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This page is set up as a memorial and as a legacy for Joe- Boy, a lovely collie dog rescued by us and loved by us until a freak accident took him away.  We intend to stop as many people as we can, and as many dogs as we can, from suffereing as we have.

Joe LOVED sticks! Joe would dance in front of one he had rooted out from somewhere.  His eyes were bright, his paws would pad the floor and he couldn’t wait to chase the wood.  Mostly I’d kick it along the floor but at times people would throw it and he’d gleefully chase, find and return until he could barely breathe, he’d ran around so much.  Then home for a long sleep.

From the first day we met him at FAITH Animal Rescue, in Norfolk, he chased sticks.  We walked along a country lane to see if we ‘liked’ him.  He didn’t care – where’s the stick? He won our hearts and we found a stick, threw it and won his.

Joe was already around 6 years old, a beautiful face with pale brown eyes and an adorable grin.  He’d obviously been used to sticks.  Perhaps a million times he’d chased after an innocent looking peice of wood.

22nd of December 2013 that changed!

Joe was out with his adopted sister Annie and a family member.  The stick was thrown, once, twice, twenty times…. then disaster fell like a sword, cutting short the fun, and very soon his life.

Joe caught the stick as it fell, it went down his throat, ripped his windpipe….Joe collapsed.  He managed to get up and the family member got him home.

A trip to the vets, 3 times in 36 hours, £700 later we were still unable to save him.  It was too much, the pain too bad.  He lost his strength, lost his will and one and a half days after he caught his last ever stick, he left us.

Now, if EVERYONE who can to post this line on their timeline on social media or via blogs does so, whether you have dogs or not, you will HELP me, in Joe’s name to save another dog, and another family from going through the pain.

Use a proper toy with your dog and keep your best friend with you for longer… and please don’t think “It’ll never happen….” it does…., it has …… but we can stop it from happening again.  PLEASE pass this message across the world.  I’ve had almost 500 shares on FAITH Animal Rescue facebook page alone – that’s potentially 500 dogs and families saved from the agony or this situation.  Every share of the message may prevent just one more…………………….Imaget

273 thoughts on “Don’t let another good dog die needlessly”

  1. Natalie Murray

    So very sorry for your loss. He was a beautiful boy. He was obviously with a family who loved him very much.

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  2. Pingback: Learning from Joe’s death. | Learning from Dogs

    • Thank you for taking on board my posts and sharing further in to the world. The more we can do for these beauties the better for everyone. I’m currently trying to find a home for a beautiful Collie male from Romania. Every one is a small triumph for me and a whole world changer for the dog 🙂

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      • chris

        What you are doing in tribute for your beautiful Joe is inspiring. In rescue, I too frequently hear from people who cannot move on beyond their grief, understandable yet so unnecessary. I think your Joe knows exactly all the good you are doing, and he loves you even more for it all. He sees every good thing you do, from inside your heart now.

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      • Thank you for your kind words Chris. Two puppies now at Calais we will collect on Saturday, one has a potential home already (pending homecheck) and the other , we will probably keep… that seems to be the biggest ‘danger’… letting go. As long as I can do Joe proud, spreading the message on dangers of sticks for toys AND saving some other unfortunate furries from a nasty life, I’m a smiley person. I’m also sponsoring a puppy now called Sophie that was left in a disused yard (8weeks old) and a 2 year old collie boy who really needs his first and forever home. It’s a tinier than a drop in the ocean but we all have to start somewhere. 🙂

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      • Thanks you for sharing, Sticks are a very big health danger, but until something happens, it’s not something most people usually thing about. Our year old female, BC, Jinx, was running for a thrown stick, & she out-ran it, & turned to catch it, & was gored through the eye. The staff of “dog ophthalmologists”, at UC Davis, were certain that she’d never see again. One Dr decided to try to go in & clean out as much damaged tissue as he could, then try to sutured her eyeball back together. They gave us 80/20 odds, of her regaining even a slight amount of vision, but since she was so young, & very “busy”, we decided to try it.
        We got our “Miracle”, & Jinx healed very well, & seems to see as well as she did before the accident. Jinx even had puppies in June! We had to skip Xmas that year, (the cost was very high), but we got a better present than anyone could have hoped for!

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      • So pleased your story had a happy ending. It’s crazy that what seems to be a normal activity is in fact dangerous and Sometimes fatal x

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  6. andy

    My mum threw a stick for my two about 3 years ago but it didn’t cover enough distance and it literally speared into the ground a couple of feet in front of them and a yelp from my boy and some blood…..thought he’d just cut his gum but the blood wouldn’t stop so took him home and in the evening I was due to go out but cancelled as he was lethargic and was still bleeding a bit so took him emergency vets and after looking him over under anaesthetic he missed the main vein in his tongue by 1-2mm and it had pierced through and come out other side plus few other small cuts on tongue and gum….if I had chosen to go out that night I would’ve come home in the early hours to find my boy would’ve bled out and passed away! So glad I could read him right and used some common sense, would’ve never forgiven myself if he’d gone like that.

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    • I AM SO SORRY THAT YOU LOST YOUR BEAUTIFUL, MUCH LOVED BOY! ITS HEARTBROKEN PEOPLE, SPEAKING OUT, AFTER INNOCENTLY LOSING DOGS TO TRAGIC ACCIDENTS, THAT HELP KEEP OTHERS SAFER. THANK YOU FOR GETTING THE WORD ON STICK DANGERS OUT! I HAVE A “STICK DANGER” STORY ALSO, BUT WE WERE IN THE HANDFUL OF “LUCKY ONES”. IT COULD HAVE GONE EITHER WAY…

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  7. Deb S.

    I’m so sorry for the tragic loss of your beautiful friend. Thank you for sharing your story to spare others the same pain. May Joe live forever in your mind and hearts.

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    • Thank you for your comments. The work goes on though it’s over a year now, and we miss him still. We’ve rescued another but Joe was so special, such an angel in fur.

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  9. Allison Shalla, Pet Chef

    I am so very sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your story in the hopes of preventing this from happening to another beloved pet.

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    • Thank you for your comments. If every share of Joe’s story gets someone to take notice, another dog is saved from the pain – then Joe’s death means something more than just a dog passing by this life.

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  10. We were very lucky, nearly 27 years ago, our 1st family pet, did exactly that, ran on to a stick, but we were lucky, no permanent damage. We are now on to our 4th dog, we never throw sticks or tennis balls. I hate to see others doing it.

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  11. faith

    I am so terribly sorry. Include tennis balls and lacrosse balls on the list of deadly toys. My golden snuck a tennis ball into the house and my newf choked . Emergency vets could do nothing to save him. Still heartbroken.

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    • I’ve read about that too with others. Nothing can prevent everything but yes we should be aware. I let mine play with hard balls too large to swallow or very large football’s. So sorry your story has a sad end.. xxxxx

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