My Pooch

Just over a year ago my little dog passed away. I was incredibly heartbroken because she was so loving, placid, fun and a complete fusspot. She was the sort of dog you could take anywhere and feel totally confident if anyone approached us to give her some fuss. She was such a wonderful companion to me, and I miss her still.

Sometimes, when we lose a pet it can make us feel that we could never replace them, and this was the case with me for the first 6 months. After this time, though, I really began to miss having a dog in our lives, and the house felt quite empty. I visited many animal rescue centres, hoping to find a new doggy friend for me and the children, but it was quite difficult because we have cats (and not many dogs like cats!), so I felt like we would never find a dog that was suitable.

Anyhow, to cut a long story short, my friend needed to find a good home for her 5 year old dog, mainly because she was working full-time and felt it was unfair to leave him alone all day, which was completely understandable. She brought the dog over to my house to meet us, and after just half an hour I knew he was the one!

He is a Labrador/cross and the most adorable pet any person could own. He has adapted very well in our lives and gets on quite well with the cats (they boss him around!).  I have had dogs as pets from being a young child, from mongrels, whippets, German Shepherds and collies; and my Labrador is as adorable as they were.

I have never had this breed before, yet he ticks all the boxes for such an all-round great dog. He is placid, bouncy, fussy, energetic, house trained, doesn’t pull on a lead, sits on command, waits when asked – I couldn’t wish for anything more and I am so fortunate that he belongs to me. I really think that the Labrador is one of the loveliest breeds you can own.

Here are some photographs from some of our recent outings.

Oh and he loves to swim! Pip x