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Heartbroken dog owner takes border collie Ella with cancer for a final stroll with canine friends on the beach before she’s put down

A 12-year-old border collie, Ella, who was diagnosed with mouth cancer was joined by 30 canines and around 25 owners on her last stroll before being put down
UPDATED FEB 8, 2023
(Representational photo, Wikimedia/Creative Commons)
(Representational photo, Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

EAST YORKSHIRE, UK: A heartbroken owner of a collie was joined by many canine lovers on her pet's final stroll together before the beloved pet was put down due to ill health. After learning she had mouth cancer, Sarah Keith, 44, wanted to make sure her 12-year-old dog Ella 'went out with a bang' with one final stroll to her favorite beach. She thus took to social media and asked other dog owners to join her for the day out at noon for a walk on Fraisthorpe beach, in East Yorkshire, on Monday in a social media shared on Saturday, February 4.

Sarah made the call for a special stroll with her beloved pet after she received the devastating news that Ella was diagnosed with mouth cancer during a veterinary biopsy on Friday. As she knows the breed and age of her pet, any necessary therapy to extend her life would simply cause her greater suffering. "It would have been selfish for me to prolong her suffering, just because I didn't want to say goodbye to her," she said. She was shocked when more than 30 canines and around 25 owners joined her on the beaches after her heartfelt letter had been shared more than 1,200 times, as per Daily Mail.

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Sarah managed to hold back her tears 

"I thought people who knew her would maybe come down. When I arrived, there was probably more than 30 dogs, and in the region of 25 owners. There was even a group with leads on, with not particularly social dogs, but they had wanted to support in their own way," she said. "Obviously, a lot of people are working on Monday, but I didn’t want to mess anyone around over the weekend. "The post just got shared and shared. And I had people from all parts of the country who never were going to be able to make the walk sending me messages."

Sarah, who was in tears, recalled that Ella adored playing with other dogs before being put down. "There were people who I'd never met them. You don't know who they are," she said. "But it's lovely they showed a bit of humility and grace when something like this happens," Sarah added. The Hull native managed to hold back her tears except when someone came and embraced her. "There was also a lady that made a hand-stitched keepsake," she added. "And there was a group of people with border collies, and Ella loved running with them. At one point there were six or seven going after the same ball. "She was the best dog I have ever had, and I have had lots of dogs," she further added. The two had been together for 11 years before Ella was diagnosed with cancer.

'She's not a house dog'

She said her dog had moved in with her when she was just a year old when the farmer who had raised her first realized she wouldn't make a decent sheepdog. Sarah, a former RSPCA inspector, realized the border collie would make a wonderful home pet despite having previously been in an outside kennel. "This collie was coming up to one-year-old, and she just wouldn't work sheep for the farmer, so he got another pup, and he was trying to find a home for her," she said. "The day after I moved into my house, she moved in with me. And as it transpired, when I got her paperwork through, it was actually her first birthday the day she moved in. I sent the farmer a photo of her laid out on the floor. He said, "What's she doing there? She's not a house dog." I said: "I think you'll find she is."

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