Boid
4th November 2025
This is a difficult one to write, because it really does mark the end of an era.
Our wonderful resident boy, Boid, has gone. He was 14 years old. We knew it would be sooner, rather than later, given the particularly aggressive bone cancer diagnosis, but the speed of its hideous progression has taken us all by surprise.
Boid was already an exempted dog, ‘pitbull type’, when, at 2 years of age, he came to live with us. His registered owners could no longer care for him. Worried, anxious and skinny, Boid blossomed into an intelligent, funloving, exceptionally sociable and happy dog who loved engaging and interacting with people. He became an ambassador who went out and about, meeting and greeting at fundraising events, which he loved. When we had the swimming pool, he was our champion swimmer-we couldn’t keep him out of the water-he loved diving in to fetch a ball.
Boid became a huge favourite with staff, volunteers and supporters alike, some of whom could often be found curled up with him in his cabin, on his little sofa. He adored fusses and tummy rubs, and being tickled.
He enjoyed meeting and greeting new volunteers and visitors to the site. He had a canopied bed in his little garden, where he would sit, supervising the comings and goings on site. He loved to be where the action was, and to be part of it.
There was a cheeky side to Boid, too. He knew where he wanted to go on his walks, and if your chosen route differed from what he had in mind, it became a good natured battle of wills.
As the years took their toll, he struggled with arthritis, and walking became more of a chore. He kept to his sofa more, and his canopied bed. He became content to watch the world go by, instead of being part of the action.
He wasn’t a noisy dog, but over the years he became part of the fabric of K9 Crusaders. Many greeted him before starting work. Quite simply, Boid was a joy. He lifted spirits, made you smile and laugh, he was a four legged feel good factor.
Recently he went off his food, and became uncharacteristically withdrawn, so he went in for tests. We all hoped the small visible swelling on the right side of his face was a tooth abcess, but the results of the tests weren’t what we wanted to hear. Boid had a particularly nasty and aggressive osteosarcoma (bone cancer).
His appetite briefly returned, and he perked up, but it didn’t last. The hideous mass grew rapidly, day by day, and our adored boy started to lose the light in his eyes, as other symptoms began to manifest. Watching him suffer was not an option, so yesterday, on his little sofa, after freshly cooked chicken and home made bone broth, and lots of cuddles and fuss, he slipped quickly and peacefully away. No more pain, Boidy.
He was one of the kindest, happiest, most good natured, sociable and funloving dogs we have ever had here at the kennels. He achieved the Kennel Club Good Citizen bronze award too. It is a tragedy that his measurements meant he could never be rehomed.
We would like to thank Alice, from the wonderful Home Farewell vets, for her kindness, care and sensitivity at this difficult and immensely sad time.