Holly Golightly 18th Nov 1999 - 17th Jun 2012

... I remember the day that my old flat-mate Satu told me she thought her dog Cherry was pregnant... Cherry was a crazy, gangly, scatty, scooby-doo type of a dog... sleek black hair, long legs and an odd-ball face and she got up to some proper comedy things too... Satu says she ran off from her that day in Regents Park and when they eventually tracked her down she sauntered casually from behind a bush followed by a golden labrador... both smiling sheepishly...

Holly as a puppy with her mum Cherry

... a few months later our Holly and her 8 brothers and sisters were born... Holly was the runt of the litter and pushed out first, she was always smaller than her siblings and never quite got all the nutrition she needed from her mum... and I remember having to tell a little white lie to The Viking, saying that i'd promised Satu we'd look after her for the weekend whilst she went away... Holly being the last, unwanted puppy, I couldn't resist and I have a deep-seated memory of carrying her in one hand  back to our home... and then of course she stayed...

our puppy

...she was a sickly puppy suffering from a dreadful skin condition and for a few years we thought we were going to lose her... our friends will tell you of winter holidays we took in rented cottages in Kent where we would follow her blood stained foot-prints through the snow... but with a huge amount of love and an even bigger vet's bill she pulled through...

... she went everywhere with us and because of that she touched so many lives... she came to work with us... she travelled on the London Underground and in cars, lorries and trains... when we were away with work or moving house and needed a place to stay she'd stayed with mum (or grandma as we called her) ...on so many occasions in fact that mum thought of her as her own... she'd come with us to stay with friends who didn't have dogs and once they got dogs she would make sure those new dogs understood that she was here first... anywhere we were was her home... and whilst she was always a little stand-offish (a cuddle was always on her terms) she had such a cute face and if you had a bit of cake or cheese or.. well anything really, you'd have a friend for life...

... when we moved to Lincolnshire she seemed to get a new lease of life... she loved running through the fields and woods, adored messing about for stones in the river and most of all simply loved the beach... even into her old age, if we said the word 'beach' she'd get so excited and hop and skip around till we took her down to the sea...

... being part labrador, food (followed closely by sleep) was pretty much the most important thing in her life... she would eat anything, the older and smellier, the better... and whilst we only had the new kitchen for a little over a year she loved being in there watching us cook and hanging round for anything that might fall her way...

... she has been everything to us... life-changing... best friend... companion... silly... grumpy... sleepy... intelligent... loving... and one of the loudest snorers i've ever heard...we are broken without her...

I miss you my little monkey-dog...

... The Viking has written the most beautiful and eloquent tribute on his blog...