We took her home when she was 5 weeks old, the quietest puppy in the kennel, which should have been a warning for us there and then. because Harriett was anything but quiet. A mix of a Labrador and Australian cattle dog, she spent the next 14 years rounding us up and creating havoc in the home. She stole biscuits right of your plate, and woe betide you if you didnt go to bed at a reasonable time, she would bark at you until you climbed those stairs.
Harriett hated storms and would sit right on your lap or the arm of the chair for protection, she would go to the front door at the exact moment your car turned into the street after work (how she knew exactly when I was getting home I will never know). After a shakey start she grew to love swimming, although she was hopeless at body surfing and had to be rescued from the surf a couple of times, and she loved nothing better than a McDonalds ice cream.
She was protective of us and we loved her to bits. When the time came to say goodbye, I was back in the UK and she was with her other mum in OZ. I said goodbye to her over the phone, and whilst that was hard for me, I can only imagine what it was like in Australia.
I could never bring myself to have another pet since then, because they really are for life (not just christmas), and saying goodbye is just too painful.
The Ladybird
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