March 31, 2014

Percy

Last week ended in misery because our beloved old yellow Labrador Percy died. I had bought him 12 years ago from a dear friend who lives across the fields from us. My sister Lucy decided he was the fattest and boldest in the litter so he would be the one for us. Christened Percy by my husband, this little bundle of fluff arrived and could almost fit in our hands.

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I wanted our son Edward to grow up with a dog, to love him and be loved, someone to play with, sleep with and run with.  Percy was always there for us, ready to defend us, someone from whom we learnt how to live and enjoy each day. There is hardly a photo without Percy.

Percy loved swimming and fetching sticks, fond of food he knew where all the bins were and relished the arrival of visitors and scones.  He loved to bark at the Shepherd’s truck and would spot it miles away! He could distinguish the butchers’ van and ask to be let out. In fact he would sidle to the back of the kitchen hoping for sausages or a side of beef. It proved so disastrous for the Chef that we had to build a special box for the early deliveries which was “Percy proof”. Percy loved spending the day with me and would come out in the mornings to feed the horses, he would then follow me around until with a huge sigh would sink down by my desk whilst I was doing my writing.

My husband adored him and sat down by his side early for a long time on his last morning. My step- children and sisters will all miss him, he was intelligent and determined, larger than life and had a wonderful life around the Castle.

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I know we are lucky as we have his daughter and two grandsons, his other relatives also come back here too to visit. They are all kind and wonderful dogs, who we love dearly, so our home is not empty but still there is no Percy.