Brave: Despite suffering a painful tumour on his spleen, Comet managed to get his master safely home after a 120-mile journey
Posted on 04/05/2010 6:14:03 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Loyal guide dog gets owner home from 120-mile journey before collapsing and dying
By Daily Mail Reporter
A loyal guide dog defied an massive tumour to get his owner home safely after a 120-mile trip before collapsing and dying.
Comet the Labrador retriever braved his painful condition so that David Quarmby, 61, could get home safely from his train and bus journeys.
Minutes after they arrived at Mr Quarmby's home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, from Birmingham, Comet collapsed and died while being given anaesthetic by a vet.
Mr Quarmby said: 'He got me off the bus, across the road and up the drive. As soon as we got home, I took his harness off, he took a couple of sniffs and collapsed.
'Comet was a brave and marvellous dog who will be missed enormously, a very kind dog who got on well with everyone, the life and soul of the party.'
Mr Quarmby, who works for West Yorkshire Probation Service and is chairman of the National Disability Network, travels all over the country to attend various events.
He was at a conference in Birmingham on Tuesday when eight-year-old Comet started experiencing problems.
Despite showing signs something was wrong, he helped Mr Quarmby get the trains from Birmingham to Manchester and Manchester to Huddersfield and the bus to his home.
He said: 'When we got into Manchester Comet felt slightly sluggish and I thought he needed to go to the toilet.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Brave: Despite suffering a painful tumour on his spleen, Comet managed to get his master safely home after a 120-mile journey
You forgot to add the burry screen alert. I cried buckets over marley and me and that was just a movie.
That dog is more human than many two leggeds.
Epitaph to his Newfoundland dog Boatswain by Lord Byron. Labs are descended from Newfoundlands.
To paraphrase the more I see of people, the more I like dogs.
What do you mean running him into the ground? It was all busses and trains. It’s not like the dog ran along side the bus.
Ping.
When the kids are in the yard, our dog stands on guard on the porch, always scanning the area around the kids like a sentry.
When a car drives around the cul-de-sac that he doesn’t know, he stands up and barks at the kids.
Dogs are a gift from God, and I truly do believe all dogs go to Heaven (well, maybe not those nasty taco bell dogs).
BTW, our dog is an American Pit Bull Terrier, the best dog, hands down, we’ve ever had.
From the description, it sounds as if Comet had hemangiosarcoma. It’s very aggressive, comes on quickly and is relatively painless, compared to other forms of cancer. That is, it is until the very late stages, when the spleen can rupture, leading to death. That’s what happened.
There’s not much that can be done for hemangiosarcoma, regardless of how much money you’re willing to spend. I’ve loved and treated my own lab for cancer, and became all too familiar.
Don’t give the man such a hard time, his dog was doing what he loved and what he was literally born to do, right up to his last breath.
He was doing what he loved, and he was loved himself, when he died. We should all be so lucky.
I'm blaming it on the pollen count today.. Yup, that's it....allergies.
I don’t tear up over dog stories. Heck, I rarely do over people stories.
Exception made...
I wish we could elect Labrador Retrievers to Congress.
Did you read the book?
It was a true story and OMG, I cried and cried!
Another doggie tear jerker-
“A Big Little Life” by Dean Koontz.
Trixie, sweet little Golden. Koontz loved her so.
My thought exactly did he not take the dog in for yearly checkups. Eight years old he was still a young dog.
IMO, of all the dog types in the world...labs are the most like humans(in personality). They eat too much. They get fat. They are smart. They hate being alone. They love cars. They love kids. They like being lazy, but they also like to work. They like the water. When required, they can learn just about anything.
Any mutt that is part lab is going to be a pretty good dog.
"Be comforted, little dog, thou too in the Resurrection shall have a tail of gold." Martin Luther
"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans." James Herriot
"If I have any beliefs about immortality it is that certain dogs I know will go to heaven, and very very few people." James Thurber
I loved your comment. We certainly would be better off than the demons in charge now.
I'll take a dog over a congresscritter anyday.
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