Opus, som boede hos og blev trænet af Poul Dixon i England, er pludselig død. Paul Dixon beretter, at han havde været ude at træne med Opus midt på dagen. Træning var gået godt, så godt at Paul havde påtænkt at tilmelde Opus til et par "novice trials" her i januar.
Efter Paul have været ude at handle om eftermiddagen kom han hjem og fandt Opus livløs.
Fordi er ikke var nogen øjensynlig grund til, at Opus var død, blev han efterfølgende obduceret, hvilket dog ikke bragte lys over sagen. Det var derfor dyrlægens vurdering, at Opus' død skyldtes et hjerteanfald eller en hjerneblødning. Hans død blev anset for at have været smertefri og hurtig.
Paul skriver endvidere "He was so friendly and enthusiastic and a delight to have as one of our pack. In the last two or three weeks I had begun to take him on our walk up shoot and last Monday he completed four excellent retrieves, including a partridge he remembered landing 60 metres over a wall.
We will never know what he might have achieved and I am so disappointed for you and me that I could not build on his training which has been a daily delight.
Thank you for letting me have him to train. I guess we just have to go on and accept what life throws at us. Sometimes it is very hard, isn’t it.
Do get in touch. It would be helpful to share our thoughts if you can as we move on. That bristling, bustling presence at heel will be much missed and never forgotten."
