Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

My four-legged other half came to live with me seven years ago on the 12th December. Thank you for picking me Eli! It was a long road and a hard one at times. However the rewards, experiences and fun made it totally worth it! My independence key! Love you. 

Tragically on the 23rd December Eli became unwell. We took him to the vet the same day and he was diagnosed with a sprained leg (if only it was!). Every day he would get better, ready to play by the afternoon in true Eli style. Heartbreakingly on Monday the 28th the same recovery didn't happen. The emergency vet discovered that sadly Eli had a ruptured spleen and cancer. They tried so hard to change the outcome but it wasn't to be. My truly phenomenal dog passed away early morning on Tuesday, the 29th December.

If you didn't know him then you have 100% missed out! Just watch this video and or the other video posted on this page https://vimeo.com/13732283 and tell me if I'm wrong. He even learnt how to open and close the swinging bathroom door the day before he got sick. The best part is that he had the biggest smile on his face while he did so. In fact he was always so chuffed to succeed and to help me in any way he could. 

His character was never far behind him. He was cheeky, mischievous, knowingly naughty, which at times mixed with incredible intelligence meant that no day was ever boring. Cheeky monkey, Eli P-li  (one of many nicknames) I said all the time.

He made a massive chunk of my disability evaporate and on the 29th December that all came back. There are so many things I can't do now that he made just happen!

Eli had only just turned nine when he died. His birthday was on Christmas Day. He had a very big ego but I think you can understand why. He couldn't miss anything, he was hands down the nosiest dog I've ever met. Next to his love of tennis balls was the sea, bananas, cheese, ginger, people, anything that squeaked, making people laugh, being involved and socialising at any given opportunity especially if it involved a stroke or a snuggle, rough and tumble with my Dad, play time with my nieces and nephews or anyone that was up for it, rolling on his back with anything in his mouth he could get hold off, long walks, finding muddy puddles, photo opportunities (time to pose), cuddly toys, opening his presents, the saying 'good boy', closely followed by 'good lad', routine (you could set your clock by him), being organised, being filmed and of course being a Labrador Retriever food must be on the list somewhere and last but by no means least I hope me. After all I was picked by him so it must be true. The list goes on but basically he loved life!

As well as all the above he absolutely adored being a Canine Partner. He was very proud to be a member of the gang and you can see that in one of the photos on this page. He recognised the purple coat from a mile off. In his life the two of us raised so much money and awareness for them and it would be great if we could do it again in his name.

In recent days someone said to me 'to know him was to love him'.

Please help me raise money for the charity that gave me my four-legged other half and an independence level that was completely unreachable before I met him.