Memorials

In this section, you will find an honour roll for all of our beloved companions listed in alphabetical order by the first name. Please click on the letters to see the memorials that have already been added.

Animal friends will be remembered on our Today We Remember page on the anniversary of their death.

Animal friends that passed away within the last 3 years will also be remembered on our Facebook page. Please note that only memorials with a photo included and the date of death recorded can be shared on Facebook.

26/07/07 - 16/05/14
Human family: LindyB
Photo(s) of Benji B. Barack (2)
Video of Benji B. Barack

Benji B. Barack

Benji B. Barack, who died aged 6 and three quarters, was adopted from Wood Green on 3rd January 2009. His quirky good looks and distinctive prancing walk meant that he soon became well-known in his home town of Great Cambourne. He saved his adoptive mum's life, simply by being there for her when she had run out of hope for the future, jumping onto her lap and licking the tears from her face. When she collapsed in the kitchen, he brought her his toys to try to bring her round, then sat in the crook of her legs while the other humans called an ambulance.
Benji was a dog of strong opinions: he would bark at his adoptive grandmother until she took her dirty plate back to the kitchen (he believed in a tidy home) and when he felt she needed to go to bed; he was very jealous of his mother's affections and wasn't altogether thrilled when she adopted another dog, Midge, a stray chihuahua rescued from a pound, in 2011. One of Benji's biggest achievements was his day on an obedience display team at Crufts. Not only did he prove that rescue dogs of uncertain pedigree can learn obedience but he also showed that they can choose not to do it when a camera is streaming their performance live on YouTube.
Benji's health was a problem from day one, with serious allergies to pollen, dust and pretty much everything. In 2010, he went into liver failure but specialist treatment saved his life. His health problems returned in the summer of 2012 after an attack from a stray dog compromised his immune system. Eventually he was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The extent of his abdominal distress wasn't clear until the day of his death when he had to undergo emergency surgery after eating a linear foreign object (aka a ball of yarn): his intestines had adhesions and scarring, and the intestinal wall was very thin in some places. Even though he came round from the anaesthetic, his little body wasn't able to cope and he stopped breathing an hour later. The veterinary team weren't able to save him and my heart was broken. Friends and family rallied round and raised over �400 for Wood Green in memory of Benji in the week after his death. Benji is survived by his mum, Linda, grandparents, Peter and Sue, and long-suffering little sister, Midge. A new brother, Rudi, has since joined the family and paid his own tribute to Benji by peeing on the call for pet obituaries in the Family section of the Guardian while I have been typing this obituary.

<< Back to memorials page