In 2009 we were gifted with a real live angel. Lucky us. Strictly speaking he was no angel but that moniker of Angel Boy was what his previous owner, Joan, gave him. And this is what he became to me.

I always remember the first time we saw him. Tied up outside a shop, I pointed to him and said that I wanted a dog like that. He came towards me with Joan and I started chatting to her about how we were looking for a dog and the rest is history, as it is said. He came to live with us.

Timmy has lived many lives in one. An only dog for a period of five years with us, he was small farm assistant to my husband who worked at an alpaca farm. Timmy would bark at the owner for entering his own land! He got up to speeds of 34 MPH running alongside the quad bike my husband used. The alpacas hated Timmy and would try to kick him when he crawled under the fence and it was funny to see all these huge animals chase such a tiny dog around a field! We would get in the old rattly land rover at the top of the lane and "pretend" we had forgotten him only to see him running madly behind us in the mirror. Then we'd let him in and we'd drive back home.

When we lived in Cambridgeshire, Timmy was used to flat lands and big skies and the nearest he got to water was at Grafham, the man-made lake. Then we totally turned his life upside-down by getting Barney in 2014. I'd started a new self-employment business in April and this was October. I really struggled with the concept of having two dogs and felt like Barney was taking precious time away from me and Timmy. In 2016 we upped sticks and moved to what felt like the other side of the universe, the Highlands of Scotland. Pine forests, sandy beaches, rolling moors and exploration abound for dogs and humans alike.

Timmy has always "got" me. My husband and I joked that he was on the autistic spectrum for dogs. Perhaps by inference that means I am or that we both are. But I have struggled with my mental health at times and Timmy always understood that. He would kiss my tears away and was the most loyal boy you could ever wish to have. I loved everything about him and especially his funny little ways. He was a lot like me. Thinking too much, having so many strange foibles, attentive, sensitive and a complete doofus at times and being totally silly.

His brother, Barney, as you know, passed away on Sunday 12th May and I went downstairs to find him asleep finally in his bed. Heartbreaking, but the best way to go. It was a double and cruel blow to find Timmy the same way just over 9 weeks after Barney, on Friday 19th July, totally unexpectedly, after what we assumed was a short illness with some spells of sickness and diarrhoea. Both had died in their sleep and I take comfort that Timmy's last memories (as well as Barney's) were being surrounded by love in their home with their mum and dad. Miss our beloved boys so much.

Liz

A Moodscope member.