Touching way dog due to be put down made the best of her last hours alive

02 December 2023 , 10:00

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Alison French with her beloved dog, Looby (Image: Geoff Davies)

A dog's friendship is like no other. So one heartbroken woman decided to do something special for her Shih Tzu's final hours before she was put down.

As pet owners know, dogs are important members of the family, offering companionship, loyalty, and unconditional love, as well as helping to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression.

Alison French was utterly devoted to her little Shih Tzu Looby and wanted to commemorate their final walk together in 2019. She made a public appeal for people to join them on Wallasey Beach, Merseyside - and the response was so touching.

Looby had to be put down after being diagnosed with Lymphoma (Geoff Davies)

Looby, 14, had been diagnosed with Lymphoma almost three years earlier and was only expected to live for a matter of weeks. Sadly, the decision was made that she had to be put down.

Speaking at the time, Alison said: "I'm disabled and I've had Looby since she was a puppy, I've never had to face anything like this before. I don't really have anyone to support me, so I posted on a few local groups to see if anyone could help me say goodbye to Looby.

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"And the response was fantastic, hundreds of people have shared the post and said they would come down to the beach. I never thought so many people would reply and send comments."

Alison wanted to take Looby to Wallasey beach for her final walk (Geoff Davies)

Alison would regularly take Looby for walks on the beach and the dog was known for wearing her distinctive pink coat. She continued: "I've met lots of people walking Looby on the beach and have told them all about her condition. I wanted to give other people the chance to say goodbye to her as well, so I put the post online for them to know about.

"The vet thought she would only last a few weeks, but she's done amazing, I've known other people with dogs with the same condition and they've lost them very quickly, so I've been lucky."

Alison and Looby were joined by 30 people (Geoff Davies)

Alison was thrilled when around 30 people turned out to help support her while she said her final goodbye. Speaking afterwards, she said: "This is what I wanted, I just wanted people to say their goodbyes to her.

"It's been absolutely beautiful and fantastic to see all these people come out for her and to support me as well, giving me hugs and kisses and crying and it will help me through the day, I know it will. I just didn't want to do it by myself at home."

Gemma Strong