The move to Redbank is going to be a little bit sadder for us.

Gryphon won't be coming with us. He died tonight. The Degenerative Nerve Disease in his back has been getting steadily worse for many months now, culminating, this morning, in him being unable to walk at all. Add to that he has been rapidly losing weight recently and, we suspect, bleeding internally. He was slowly, ever so slowly slipping away from us. Tonight our wonderful vets helped us to put him quietly and gently to sleep, he died peacefully.

Anybody who has ever had a German Shepherd will understand what a full experience it is. Gryphon had all sorts of health problems in his life - born with a faulty elbow, he needed an operation to repair it, he needed a number of operations to remove solid lumps - from his foot and his tongue. He managed to rupture both cruciate ligaments in both rear legs. We seem to have spent a large part of his life carting him around in a sling. But through all of that he remained the most even tempered, gentle giant of a dog. He was sweet natured, very kind and extremely tolerant of the little monster dogs. Sure we had to get him some anti-anxiety medication when Jedda arrived (because he chased her around and around and around and around). But he was right - a few months into Jedda's life around here and we were musing about Valium for us.

Still - we came home, after leaving him with our kind and very lovely vets (who we owe a great debt to for their kindness and compassion - to us and the dogs), to a house that has a little more physical room in it, but has lost a great light. The gentle faced doofus watching us from his favourite couch, the sneaking out to the back step early in the morning to bark his newsletter to the entire neighbourhood. The dog whose favourite childhood toy was a metal mop bucket, who with the other German Shepherd systematically destroyed a plastic tunnel house.

Who was always .... always ... up for a full body cuddle and a bit of a smooch.

We'll miss you Gryphon.