"Bullingham" was one of ten puppies born to "Ettie" and "Ollie" in 1993.   Unfortunately, "Ettie" got very sick after the arrival of the puppies so they had to be hand-reared with bottles. Just to add to the fun, Susan was attending the World Union of Saint Bernard Show in San Diego, USA at the time, so John (who luckily had taken long-service leave) and Judy had to cope by themselves. Fortunately there was no shortage of bottle weilding volunteers from amongst other Saint owners and family so everyone survived the ordeal.

"Bullingham's" promising show career was cut short as a youngster when he ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left hind leg.   The first signs of trouble were lameness.   He could hardly put any weight on the leg at all.   It took four different vets, lots of x-rays and travelling, and a number of months before the correct diagnosis was made.   Leading up to this we were told that he had osteosarcoma (bone cancer), osteomyelitis (infection in the bone) and hip dysplasia (even though his hips had previously been x-rayed and were OK).

Even when the correct diagnosis had been made it took two operations to fix the problem.  During the first op a surgical needle was accidentally left in the wound.   Needless to say the second operation was done at a different veterinary practice!

He continued to show signs of lameness throughout his life, but it did not slow him down. He remained an active and vocal member of our family until he passed away in November, 2002

"Bullingham" is sadly missed by his two- and four-legged family and friends