29/04/2026
My last walk with these meatheads today 😭😭
I'll miss little Derek's grunts and clownish behaviour. You'll be hard pushed to meet a dog with quite so much (oft-misplaced) optimism & joy coursing through his bones. Everyone who knows him rolls their eyes and smiles when they talk of him. Is there a greater compliment as a dog?!
But Bill, well he's my boi. I've known him for 9 years since he clattered into puppy class all those years ago. He's my pal, my friend, one step away from being my dog.
Watching him go from all teeth, to all legs, through an adolescence where he was attacked relentlessly by other males, and coming out the other side to become this steady wise presence has been a gift as a dog lover. If my welly gets stuck in the mud I know he'll notice and be there, solid and close, to let me use him to lean on. There's a metaphor there.
And now I'm slowly watching him age, not being able to clear the same logs in a graceful jump but instead it's become a clamber. More grey hairs on his gorgeous face every week. What a privilege to see that transition as hard as it is to watch.
I'm sad I won't be able to see it all the way through to the end but I am so grateful for the years I've spent with these two absolute beauties.
Thank you to their wonderful humans for letting me be a part of their lives all these years. It's been a pleasure and an honour 💕💕
