Sarah Keith decided to take her 12-year-old Border Collie, Ella, for one last walk on the stunning Bridlington beach in East Yorkshire. Wanting to share the experience with other dog owners, she took to social media to extend an invitation to join her on this emotional journey.
Sarah Keith bid farewell to her dog, Ella, due to a grave illness. To make the most of their final moments together, Sarah took Ella for a walk on their treasured beach in Bridlington, East Yorkshire. But, Sarah didn’t want to go through it alone, so she turned to social media and invited other dog owners to join them on this momentous occasion. To her astonishment, 30 dogs and their owners showed up to offer their support to Sarah and Ella during their last walk together. Sarah made this heartbreaking decision after discovering that Ella was suffering from incurable mouth cancer.
After much contemplation, Sarah concluded that it wouldn’t be right to keep the dog alive just because she didn’t want to bid farewell. She reckoned it would be self-centered to extend the animal’s pain and opted to let go.
After sharing her difficult decision on social media, she invited people to join her at Fraisthorpe beach the next day. To her delight, more than 25 people and 30 furry friends came to greet her and Ella.
Sarah had initially thought that only people who knew Ella would show up for the final Walk. She didn’t want to inconvenience anyone’s Monday schedule. But she decided to share the event on social media, and to her surprise, she received messages from all over the country offering their support. On the day of the Walk, more than 30 dogs and 25 owners, including a group with less sociable dogs who still wanted to contribute, came together. The pictures from the event have been circulating online, and Sarah feels that it was a satisfying last day for Ella.
Sarah shared how much she enjoyed spending time with her beloved dog, Ella, as they joined a group of border collie owners for some playtime. Watching Ella run and play with the other dogs as they chased after a ball brought her joy. It was not uncommon for six or seven dogs to join in on the fun. Sarah felt that Ella was the best dog she had ever owned.