I’m indulging myself here because this is a non football post, but today I lost my most loyal and trusting friend – Tanner, my eight and a half year old mongrel dog, died today. After an awkward first few months when he terrorised my cat and chewed up a couple of my mobile phones, he settled down to become a really sweet natured old thing who was probably too soft for his own good (the cat certainly went back to her old position of ruling the roost over the last few years!).
Tanner was a really well behaved dog except in one respect – if he got out of the house without his lead on there was no way I was going to catch him (he used to let other people who he knew put the lead on him when he had eventually tired himself out after dashing about the place for around half an hour).
Unfortunately, Tanner had no sense when it came to cars, he just didn’t realise how dangerous they could be and today the accident which had been waiting to happen finally did when he bolted in front of a car going about thirty miles an hour and was hit in his head and side. We took him to the vets, but it didn’t take them long to let us know that he had suffered internal injuries and brain damage and there was nothing that could be done for him – he passed away before the injection I asked for to put him down could be administered.
Actually, I will mention football – Tanner didn’t have the best of starts to his City career as his first game was the 3-1 defeat by Millwall in December 2003 when Neil Alexander had a nightmare, but he recovered from that and didn’t do too badly over the next eight years (none of my other dogs could boast a Cup Final appearance!) and the win on Saturday was a good way for him to bow out.
RIP Tanner you daft dog (even the cat will miss you).
