The last few weeks have been very difficult emotionally for me as I very sadly lost Tiny Timmy at the end of March. It was sudden, he had complications from his previous operation in December and sadly developed septic peritonitis. He was six years old, way too young to be taken. I miss him so much, my little shadow, always by my side.

It is devastating to lose your family companion and its hard to navigate through the grief and loss that is all encompassing. I am still working through that, and for this article I am going to celebrate my little boys life by writing a tribute to him.

“Dear Timmy,

When I first met you, you were the smallest pup I had ever seen, a tiny ball of fluff with a lot of energy! You captured my heart straight away and at 9 weeks old, we welcomed you into the family home. You adapted so well and made friends with my older girl Kilo straight away.

“Despite your tiny size, you had the biggest personality and the biggest and most joyful heart. Every day you greeted as a new beginning, a new start and you always gave me a wonderful welcome each morning- sometimes scratching my head to remind me that it was time to get up! We did a lot of training together and you loved those sessions.

“You were so quick to learn and we had a lot of fun doing your trick training awards, hoopers sessions and Good Citizen Awards. You went pretty much everywhere with me and your company on visits and training sessions was wonderful. You had a bright, cheeky, loving personality and you knew how to work the camera! I was so glad that we could enjoy lots of adventures together, including two trips to Scotland, many camping trips and lots of other fun walks.

“You gave so much to me and Tina, and also to my mum and dad who loved you very much. Every one who met you, was given a joyful greeting and your presence made us all feel better. You taught me the value of being grateful for all the tiny, wonderful things that happen every day, the simple pleasures, like a sunny day, a peaceful walk and playing together with one of your favourite toys.

“From the bottom of my heart, thankyou Timmy for being such a wonderful person, you were my friend, companion and will always be with me in my heart. You are loved forever my precious little man.”