Sunny - A Story Of A Dogs Fight Against The Odds

Sunny's Story - A Fight Against The Odds
The story begins back in 1993 when I took possession of a very shy, nervous and withdrawn 2 year old fawn greyhound dog whose pet name was Sunny. Now Sunny had a bit of breeding behind him as his dear old dad was none other than the great "Flag Star" himself, but unfortunately Sunny didn't display the same characteristics in the racing department as his father, so he was put onto a transit van in Ireland and shipped off to do the rounds of all the Independents tracks when he finally ended his journey in Swansea.

It was time for his trial and Sunny refused to firstly go into the traps and then secondly come out, and when he eventually did, he only got as far as the finishing line (about 100 yards) and then ground to a stop. The dog didn't know where he was. He was so thin and under nourished it's no wonder that he couldn't run. By this time I had taken a real liking to this dog and went to the club house and waited for the bidding on this dog to begin. The reserve on him was £250:00 but because of the way that he had performed in his trial no one showed the slightest bit of interest in fact when the reserve went up the place went into reels of laughter. He was led away back to the transit van where I waited for the agent. I asked "what's going to happen to the big fawn dog who wouldn't race?" His reply shocked me to say the least. "The first field I come to I'll shoot the f****** b****** because that all he's worth" was the reply that I got. "A waste of a good bullet" I countered trying to clam the situation (but thought to myself that a bullet would be too quick, it would more likely be the back of a shovel or a spade leaving the dog to die a horrible slow death alone in a field) but I think that he was so angry that it went over his head because I know that he lost a serious amount of money on this dog. I asked if I could see the dogs I.D. card and made some excuse to have a look at him. I gave the card to a friend of mine who was with me. I put a collar and lead on Sunny and "dragged" him off for a walk (he hated the lead, and hated walking in fact just hated people). When I eventually brought him back, the agent was packing up to go and catch the ferry back to Ireland. I then did something that at that point I felt guilty about at the time but looking back on it now I know I did the right thing. While the agent was taking to someone else, I took the dog up to the top of the car park, and literally bundled him in the back of the car, slammed the tailgate and legged it home as quickly as possible - I don't even think he knew the dog was missing. When I got the dog home I eventually caught him and put him on the scales - he weighed only 49lbs which was roughly 18lbs below the weight I felt he should have been. So I went to the freezer and got some minced steak, peeled some potatoes and vegetables and made him up some dinner with gravy - this is what Rusty ate so from the start I decided that I would show no favouritism between the two. After it was made and had cooled I put it down in front if him, the poor dog looked at it because in my opinion he simply didn't know what it was. He had been so long on the road and had gotten so used to getting stale bread and watered down milk (more water than milk) that I think he was afraid to eat it.

Anyway I persevered and after 3 long months working with Sunny, he began to show a little trust in me. He lead better, he was starting to eat better and gain a little weight. It was at this point I decided that I would do some serious training with him and put him on the track and see just what he could be capable of.

Another month went by and the night of his first race. Now because his trial was such a disaster I didn't know if he was an inside railer or a wide runner, a sprinter or a distance dog, so lesser of the two evils I decided to enter him for sprint in the middle, and because he was a new dog he automatically went into the top heat where he came 3rd in the fastest time of the night. I was delighted with the result.

Since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge. He went on to run in over 30 races and win 17 including three good graded opens, but one day when he was out in the garden he fell into a hole that a mole had dug and broke his hock. Although I had his leg fixed at a cost of nearly £400 it subsequently ended his career at the age of five.

August 2000 Sunny celebrated his 8th birthday and I treasure every moment that he is with me. I wouldn't trade any of my ex-racing dogs for all the riches in the world, they are a part of me. Unfortunately during a recent cancer scare (which was treated successfully) I have found out that Sunny has contracted a heart condition called Cardiomyopathy. Its a condition whereby the heart beats unevenly and builds up an excess of blood and then has blast it out at considerable force around the body. However, on a brighter note, while he keeps taking his Forticor tablets he seems fine. He is a fighter through and through, although the vet told me when he was diagnosed with this complaint he will be living on borrowed time, she did not see him living any longer than 12 months and it would be a bonus for anything after that. So we were looking to Christmas 1997 for that fateful day. I'm glad to tell you that he is still going strong and excuse the pun but there is still life in the old dog yet.

When you consider that £30 was all I would have needed to pay the vet to have the dog destroyed after he broke his leg I think that you will agree there are still a few good racing greyhound owners out there yet who think more of their dogs than they do their pockets.

Since this story was written Sunny has since been extremely ill. We knew that one day his heart would say enough and that day unfortunately came sooner rather than later. On Monday June 12th 2000 Sunny suffered a heart attack, this in turn brought on two rather severe and forbidding strokes which I believe, had it have been any other dog would have resulted in the animal needing to be destroyed. But Sunny being Sunny, fought for his life like he has never fought before and together with a lot of love, care and affection he gradually got stronger and stronger. Now some four and half months later you would never know that there had ever been anything the matter. He is a little deaf (but aren't they all when they want to be) and he is still a little unsteady when he lifts his leg to have a tinkle. All in all he is a remarkable greyhound the like I have never seen before, but just when we thought that we had seen the last of the cancer he had to have another operation because of a bone tumour which was growing on his dew claw. We were a little worried even about giving him the special greyhound anaesthesia but we need not have been because thanks to some great work by the vets the toe has gone and all the cells have been removed and he is once again back to himself.

On November 20th 2000 I done a very stupid thing. You see I suffer with a heart complaint and slipped discs in my lower back and it had been a really bad few days. I had also been to the dentist so when I came home I took two rather strong pain killers which made me fall asleep. Now what I didn't tell you was that I forgot that I had put the chip pan on to make some chips for tea and the kitchen went on fire as well as the passage and extensive smoke damage - and you've guessed it, Sunny was in the wars again. Smoke inhalation was the main problem but he and the other two dogs also suffered with chest and eye problems.

Anyway, after a course of antibiotics everyone is ok again and one evening Sunny decided to "help" me put up a mirror. He knocked the mirror over and he had a 5" gash on the leg he had had the operation on to remove his dew claw only a few months earlier. Back to the vet once again and once again he needed to go under. This time he received 13 stitches and the next day he was running about like there was nothing the matter.

My vet has told me that she is nominating him for a bravery/survival award and between you and me it will take one hell of a dog to beat him.

On April 23rd 2001 @ 11:20AM Sunny was finally laid to rest after suffering a tumour on his Prostrate Gland. This had spread down into his Urethra and meant that he had great difficulty in passing water and on the few times that he did manage to urinate he cried with the intense pain. The tumour had also spread into the thigh bone in his right leg rendering him lame and unable to walk properly. Sunny had been ill for the 10 days that I was in Northern Ireland attending my Grandfathers funeral so after discussing at length with the vet I decided that it was time to let go and say goodbye to a dog that had been a loyal and brave companion and one that was always at my side.

Sunny had, in the last three years of his life been through more than most animals would ever face in a lifetime. This time it was too much.

Goodbye my faithful old friend.
There will never be another like you.
I miss you dearly.