In June this year, one of our gorgeous clients Naomi Blake said goodbye to her loyal companion, Molly.

Molly had been diagnosed with hip dysplasia at age 3, and had experienced ongoing arthritis symptoms throughout her life, including pain and stiffness. Naomi had been told that she might not make it past the age of 10 or 11. Naomi showed great dedication to the care of her beautiful girl, and with the help of our Dr Giles and Molly’s regular veterinary team, she made it to 13 years knowing she was a very loved and special girl.

Naomi and the Sunset Team arranged a beautiful goodbye for Molly. One of the things Molly loved most was having acupuncture for her arthritis. This was part of her medical treatment plan but also seemed to leave Molly feeling super relaxed and blissed out. So why not plan to give her this feeling on her final day and allow Naomi to say goodbye with Molly feeling as good as possible? Which was exactly what we did.

We asked Naomi to share some of her special memories, and some insight on what it was like to care for Molly in her senior years:

I adopted Molly, a kelpie Dalmatian cross (allegedly) as an 8 week old puppy from RSPCA Yeronga. They put her in a cage beside the front counter while I did the paperwork – and she screamed the place down. She wanted out, NOW! Molly was my first young puppy and we learned a lot together.

One of Molly’s defining characteristics was the need for her to have something in her mouth before she said hello. A leaf, a ball, a toy , a shoe – it didn’t matter. She had a large red plastic tongue that looked crazy dangling out of her mouth as she trotted up to say hello.

The photos I have shared here are from Zoo Photography. She loved Ken, they had a very special relationship. He got amazing shots and she even featured on a book.

It was a privilege, yet also very hard, to care for Molly over her last 18 months. Working with Sunset Vets to find amazing pain relief that gave her back quality of life was such a blessing. It was also gut wrenching looking at her and knowing I had a responsibility to balance her desire to stay with me, and to stop her suffering.

A month before Molly died my other dog (post-surgery) had acupuncture at home, I decided Molly should have some too. I know she wasn’t in pain (thanks to Sunset Vets) but she was very stiff. The 24 hours after acupuncture she was a different dog – it released and brought back the young Molly, and that’s a lovely memory.

As much as I miss my beautiful girl, I’m very happy I chose Sunset Vets and Dr Giles to come with Molly and I on this journey. She loved you too Dr Giles!