Appeal to help ‘lovable’ dog found at dying owner’s side after tragic staircase fall

The sister of a man whose dog stayed by his side when he died after a fall has launched a crowdfunder to raise money for the animal charity that has rehomed him.

Simone Tardivel, who has family in Bristol, has organised the fundraiser for the Somerset-based GSD Helpline, which took in 12-year-old German Shepherd Barney when owner Les Henson died in September 2022.

Les, who was 65, died when he fell down the stairs of his Swindon home after suffering a haemorrhage. He was found with the dog by his side.

A few months earlier, Les was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a life expectancy of two years so he made plans for Barney to be placed with the GSD Helpline for when he became unable to care for him.

The dog remained at Les’s home for a week after his death but he had lost more than 10 kilos and was covered in abrasions and open wounds from rubbish in the garden.

Brenda Jojic from GSD Helpline was able to collect Barney and look after him because Les’s sister, Simone, lives in France and was therefore unable to rehome Barney herself.

Barney is still living with Brenda but he has been unwell in recent weeks and needs an MRI scan. He is now losing control of his back legs, which Brenda thinks could be down to Degenerative Myelopathy.

Simone said Barney had been one of the family and it was heartbreaking that she couldn’t take him to France. She now wants to raise money for him and the charity looking after him.

“It was and still is horrendous. I was FaceTiming my brother every day when he was ill and I would speak to Barney - I was his Aunty Simmy! When I call Brenda, I still see and speak to Barney on FaceTime, I’ve done that since he was rehomed and he recognises my voice.

“German Shepherd dogs get a really bad rap because the police use them a lot and people tend to think of them as guard dogs. But Barney is a sweet, loveable teddy bear of a dog.

“Brenda does an amazing job with rehoming German Shepherds which is quite a specialised thing. If German Shepherds were in a dogs home, they might be the last ones to be taken which is really sad.”

Simone said Barney meant the world to her late brother, who was an animal lover all his life.

“Les had dogs, but also snakes and lizards. He was the loveliest, kindest, most gentle person with the most amazing sense of humour.

“He was my big brother and I absolutely worshipped him. He suffered a lot with mental health problems, PTSD and depression but he was so clever and knowledgeable about wildlife.

“After he died, I found books he’d written himself about reptiles. He loved snakes and loved the outdoors - he worked as a tree surgeon and loved working in the woodlands.

“My brother did spoil Barney - he’d had him since he was a puppy around eight weeks old. We were brought up with dogs in the family and they have always been a large part of our lives.

“Now I want to raise as much as I can for the charity looking after him and so Barney can live out his last few years in happiness.”

To donate to the crowdfunder, click here.