In memoriam
One of the inevitabilities of sharing our lives with animals, is that their time with us is often fleeting. Here are the four-legged members of my family who are no longer with me. They may be gone, but their spirits live on in the work that I do.
Sherlock (12 May 2015 – 18 August 2023)
My Saluki, Sherlock, joined us in August 2015, when he was just over 12 weeks old.
He had the rather posh kennel name of ‘Fernlark Birra Moretti’ (named after an Italian beer), but as that’s a bit of a mouthful to call out, we named him Sherlock – affectionately known as ‘Sherlock Bones’.
Everyone who met Sherlock fell in love with his smile and huge personality. Due to his good looks, people often thought he was girl – although I soon let them know that wasn’t the case! Sherlock was very sociable with other dogs; he had excellent play skills and was very good at interpreting dog body language and communicating with other dogs.
Sherlock passed away very unexpectedly in August 2023. Not a day goes by without me missing his general cheekiness.
Jasper (2 May 2004 – 5 December 2016)
Jasper was a retired racer, who used to race under the name of Boherash Bravado.
Initially, Jasper was quite shy and fearful and it took him a while to adjust to life after the track. However, with lots of careful confidence building, counter conditioning and desensitisation, he came on in leaps and bounds.
Jasper passed away in December 2016. He is much missed but his lessons on helping fearful dogs, live on through the work of Happy Hounds.
Dennis (2015 – March 2016)
Dennis joined the hound gang in June 2015. Initially, he was a little nervous after leaving the safety of his brothers and sisters, but soon settled into his new home thanks to the provision of cat-friendly activities, space and plenty of places to jump up and boxes to hide in.
He was full of character and, despite looking like a Bengal, was a tabby cat.
Unfortunately, a week before his first birthday, Dennis was hit by a car and died instantly. His friendly little face is missed by all who knew him.
Tula (2009 – 28 March 2015)
Tula, the cat, joined the greyhound gang back in November 2010 after Susan’s previous cats – Chivers and Tazzie – had died of old age (both lived to be 19/20 years old). Tula got on very well with the hounds and could often be found snuggling up to them in bed, or even taking over their beds. One of her ‘special tricks’ was to hide in the boxes when the hounds were practising nose/scent work!
Tula loved being outside and also enjoyed clicker training. Sadly, Tula passed away very unexpectedly on 28 March 2015; she suffered a fatal massive blood clot (saddle thrombus) and is missed dearly.
Stevie (6 July 2002 – 24 July 2014)
Stevie was a retired racing greyhound who used to race under the name: Robs Diamond. Stevie loved his retirement and loved food even more!
Stevie’s love of food was very useful in his training, particularly when it came to training him to live with our cats. Stevie is proof that positive methods work when it comes to training, even though he’d been trained to chase fast moving, furry things; the science of learning theory and reward based training methods soon had him and the cat living in harmony.
Stevie enjoyed nose/scent work for fun and snoozing.
Stevie joined our family in 2008 and lived past his 12th birthday. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with liver cancer in July 2014 and made his journey over the rainbow bridge on 24 July 2014.
Mina (2002 – 1 February 2014)
Mina is the hound that started it all and the inspiration behind Happy Hounds. Mina was found as a stray puppy wandering the streets of Newcastle and was adopted by me, when she was around 2 years old, as her owner could no longer look after her.
Mina had a number of behaviour problems, however with my help and training, she overcame these – especially her reactivity and fear aggression towards other dogs. Mina was a real character who loved to learn and lived life at full speed.
Mina enjoyed fun agility, nose/scent work for fun, trick training, and generally busting the many myths that surround greyhounds.
Sadly, after a brief illness, Mina passed away on 1 February 2014. She may be gone but she will never be forgotten. Her legacy is Happy Hounds and all the dogs and humans that I work with.
