Today we said goodbye to our beautiful boy Amos who we adopted from the Falkland Islands 6 years ago when he retired from being a military police dog.
I still remember the day my wife messaged me with a picture of Amos and asked if we wanted to take him on as he had retired himself from service, the picture is below...
I was deployed to Bahrain with BFBS when I received the message and was on air at the time.
I replied to her saying 'aww he's amazing, but he looks like he will eat us in our sleep!'
It turns out that he was the softest German Shepherd police dog to ever exist, he was so loving and wouldn't hurt a soul, even when play fighting, if he knew that he'd caught your skin, he would immediately stop and look at you as if to say 'ah sorry!'
I also remember the first day I met Amos, I had landed in the Falklands and the next day Kelly took me up to the police dog section to see him. He was just as hansom in real life as he was in the pictures.
Whilst up at the dog section I couldn't help notice that out the back, there is a cemetery for all of the police dogs who had passed away in the Falklands. As you enter the cemetery there is a monument with a poem on it and I remember reading it and crying.
Now as I write this it's even more meaningful!
This is the poem...
If it should be that I grow weak,
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle cannot be won.
You will be sad, I understand;
Don't let your grief then stay your hand.
For this day more than all the rest,
Your love for me must stand the test.
We've had so many happy years -
What is to come can hold no fears,
You'd not want me to suffer so;
The time has come, so let me go.
Take me where my needs they'll tend
And please stay with me until the end.
Hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
I know in time that you will see
The kindness that you did for me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I've been saved.
Please do not grieve - it must be you
Who had this painful thing to do.
We've been so close, we two, these years -
Don't let your heart hold back the tears.
We had an amazing 6 years with Amos, we climbed mountains together, swam in the sea and enjoyed many brilliant adventures. It was a pleasure to call him our dog.
I took Amos out for one final walk today and I gave him one last cuddle and told him that he's going to see his old dog mates in the sky.
We got home and gave him one last dinner with lots of chicken as he loved that!
Then I said my final goodbye and Kelly took him to the vets.
Good bye Amos, sleep tight mate
