My family

My darling doggie has been my family for almost fifteen years. He is getting so old now and like his mum towards the end of her life and who died in 2011, he needs to sit down every so often on our walks. Despite a tumour on his hind leg, he still wants to be wherever I am and can just about manage a short walk. If you haven't had a dog you couldn't possibly understand how wonderful they are. I have had dogs for most of my adult life. People come and go, those who you thought were friends will probably let you down but our canine friends would literally move Heaven and Earth just for the chance to be with you. There is a theory that in the course of  evolution, dogs civilised humans. My doggie and I have done some incredible things- he once sat quietly in the back seat of my car all the way to Brittany, France- a nine hour drive- without so much as a whimper. At the end of that journey, he accompanied me to a restaurant where he sat at my feet and ate one half of a large steak. Dogs are just perfect- they are kind, joyful, full of love - if you leave the room for five minutes they behave as if you have been gone on Homer's Iliad and just returned. I shall be bereft when my darling pooch needs to go to the great big kennel in the sky. Quite simply, I do not know how I shall cope. It will be the saddest day of my life.

Photo copyright SvD.