We did not realise the pain and the sadness of the loss of our dog, the family is in mourning, Super Herb’s our fifteen and a half-year-old chocolate Labrador finally sniffed his last bum, he has finally stolen his last sandwich from the children and finally stopped leaving strangely shaped poos on our patio. I am now Wastedad a wife 4 kids and an….’ emptiness. This void has appeared where Herbie belonged, our life’s journeys together have ended, all we have is a wicker envelope, a flower, and a few sympathy cards.
On an autumn day thirteen and a half years ago, looking like a drug deal or something more, like smuggling, I met my brother at Stover (in Devon – a wonderful place to escape) car park. Mr. Big (aka my bro) had been offered a job in Spain and couldn’t take his dog, so not wanting anything bad to happen to Herbie, I said we would take him. This was the beginning of where my journey as a dog owner started. This two-year-old chocolate Labrador looked into my eyes; he was a good-looking dog just a bit wild with it. I packed the car full of doggie bits then went off home.
This post contains affiliate links, for more information click here
It was not all walks, hugs, and kisses at first, Herbie refused to come back every time we let him off the lead training, training, training, and more training. Just when we thought he had finally got it… off again. Herbie’s game was to playfully come within a hand’s length of us then go cross-eyed and bolt off in the opposite direction! So many times, we were seen running after him in the park, trying to corner him or outsmart him. If Herbie realised the game was up, he would try to make it as difficult as possible for us to get him, like standing in the middle of a pond or swimming out to sea. So many times, we had to jump into these ponds or climb fences to get to marshes where he had got stuck or go into the sea fully clothed to fetch the naughty chocolate dog (he certainly was playful).
At home we had to lock up food, he could sniff out food even when sleeping and if for a second you left food on a plate on the worktop he would stealthily sneak past you, eat the food without leaving a crumb and get back to his bed and pretend to be asleep, making you think “Did I have food on that plate?” Grandma regularly got caught out and one time made three sandwiches! He was a clever feller. We used to put plain flour on the worktops when we went out so we could see what he was up to and we would come home to find paw prints everywhere. We soon realised that he could reach the top cupboards somehow!
On Monday morning (I was on a late shift) I was starting to cut up leftover Sunday roast chicken and took a phone call from ‘G’, within seconds the little bugger had slipped past me and was halfway through the chicken when he knocked it off the worktop and smashed the plate but still held on to his prize! Dragging a growling dog away from a cooked chicken was not the highlight of my day.
Being a chocolate Labrador, he had his moments, he loved swimming in the sea, running over the common, and pooing on the pavement without warning! He loved everyone except us it seemed, we only fed him, took him out, and did treat him. Granddad and Grandma had a special bond, he loved going to see them and being treated more than the kids, he even loved being given little extras and was welcome at the dinner table in their house.
When anyone came to see us or we went to see them, Herbie would be their best friend (he could even charm non-dog lovers), his taken for making human friends has been apparent, due to all the reactions we have had from our wonderful group of friends. So many people have sent sympathy messages of love for Herbie and so many stories and so many laughs, which has been a great help.
We, as a family, miss Herbie dearly and did not realise what effect his passing would have on us. I find myself opening the door in the morning to kick him out for his morning ‘business’ and stepping over where he slept. When we went to get his ashes, he came home ‘in spirit’ and bundles of his hair keep appearing just to remind us.
Now our focus is on getting another dog, not to replace Herbie but to give love to another. No dog could replace our nutty chocolate Herbie and the memories we have of him, but a new dog can give us new adventures and grow with our family.
