I had to have my dog, Gryphon, put down tonight. I've mentioned him before in this blog - forgive me if I don't feel like grabbing the URL for you, I'm sure if you are interested you can find it yourself.

Gryphon was a 12 1/2 year old German Shepherd Dog. He was also the most lovable and yet most annoying pet I've had so far. There is nothing like having a full body cuddle with 45kg of dog to make you feel the world is worth living. Well, I had one last cuddle with poor Gryph as the needle went in and he went to sleep, never to wake.

There are no words for how wretched I feel at the moment. I wrestled with the timing of his end, but in the end it was clear that if he couldn't walk two steps without assistance, and the side-effects of the medication were now becoming an issue in their own right, the time was here. As mentioned before, I did not hesitate, no matter how hard it was for me. He didn't deserve to suffer and so I acted.

I'm probably being a bit blunt for some of you who don't like to be confronted with the reality of life, but there is no getting around the facts. Gryphon had a great life and contributed to me having a great life. Such devotion and mutual joy requires reciprocal dedication and strength of resolve when the hard decisions must be made.

So now I need to have a drink or two in Gryphon's honour, and I hope some of you out there will join me.