A Message to You Rudi

My best mates Phil and Dougie's dear greyhound Rudi died yesterday. Dougie's mum and dad were looking after him while they were at a party. Rudi managed to get out of their house and headed for home. He was hit by a car and was so severely injured that he was let go to the forever sleep. Phil and Dougie came home this morning to the sad news and phoned us. We've been up to see them and naturally they are distraught.
They took on Rudi from the Greyhound Awareness League (GAL) last autumn. Rudi was in a helluva state when they got him - he had been raced in Ireland for 3 years and he was very thin. He was being treated for mange, his skin was broken and sore and he had patches of fur missing and to add insult to injury he had his nads off the day Dougie picked him up. Phil and Dougie worked hard on him, fattening him up, having his ailments treated and most of all loving him. Pretty soon he was a handsome boy with his soft grey coat and lean muscles. He was a terrible thief, stealing bread from the bread bin and swiping unattended sandwiches when you turned your back for a split-second. Every time he came to our house, he would head straight for the kitchen and check out the worktops, which he was tall enough to reach, for any freebies. He and our dog Roxie had a grudging relationship - she resented a little that she wasn't Dougie's number one doggy pal but they worked it out. When he visited here, she would acknowledge him then go off up to our bed in the huff while Rudi either lay on her bed or stretched out on the couch. We had to put her sheepskin rug away as he tried to eat it once and also her toys were packed away as he liked her orange hippo a bit too much. Phil and Dougie had a coat for him and pyjamas - I think if they sould have got away with it they would have dressed him up for Hallowe'en, Xmas and Easter. He was a big silly sap who would lean into you for an ear scratch and never passed up on a biscuit. His silent but deadly farts should have been outlawed under the Geneva Convention.
It's not fucking right and it's not fucking fair. Sometimes the Universe is a bastard and today is an example. The world is a wee bit lighter without him but feels so very much heavier.
Goodbye Streetch - run after those rabbits xxx