Mrs Down's Diary

IT has been strange adjusting to life without our old Labrador Meg.After Bud, our Jack Russell died, Meg laid claim to the kitchen and would not be stirred from the house unless to go in the back of the Landrover or stagger out for a quick scrounge round the remnants of a meal. Nell and Holly still look lost.

Nell and Holly still look lost. They looked to Meg as Top Dog and do not seem to have sorted out who is who in the current status.

Personally, I think it will be Holly, the spaniel.

To that end we have decided to look for a sheepdog puppy later in the year. Nell is nearly eleven, and cannot be expected to be as active as she is now for much longer. Last time we lost our sheepdog, we did not have a younger dog coming on.

So for more than a year John was working with the sheep without a four legged friend to help. Just his two legged hindrance. Me.

But we have no plans yet for another Labrador. Perhaps next year. It is too raw now. And Holly would feel very aggrieved to see a threat to her gundog role.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette June 3.