Pieter, eight and half years old, large and hairy. Pieter came to us in June of 2011; his owners had died one after the other in quick sucession, he had gone to a neighbours family, but that didn’t work out. He came to us as his third home in just a short time.
Mr Grumpy, as he became known, gradually settled and relaxed and one day seemed to find his happy switch. He is fairly elderly for a Bernes, but very fit. Lots of walks, outings, came most places with us. Rather fidgety, he gradually learned to settle in a cafe or pub garden after a walk.
One day, after racing about in the remains of the snow (Bernese love the cold and the snow), he went badly lame. An Xray showed bone cancer of the shoulder. Excruciating pain for Pieter and total shock for us………. Scans showed no evidence of spread, and he had his amputation on 6 March 2012.