Reggie, my rock and my best friend.

Despite all its flaws this is my favourite photo of Reggie.

The hardest part of being at home is the silence.

Reggie was never a really a barky dog but I always knew he was there. This evening he isn’t and sadly he never will again, apart from the photo I have on the wall above the fire place.

Reggie had been slowly going down hill for a long time. His eye sight had pretty much gone and he I could shout at him from 2 feet away and he wouldn’t be able to hear me. His legs had become more wobbly and walking much harder, but through all that time he was always my special boy who loved me with a passion and never wanted to leave my side.

Going to university was very hard on Reggie. He spent 3 months with friends, whilst I waited to get the house and whilst he was spoilt rotten, he missed me terribly. The day, I came to pick him up, I will never forget, he was asleep in their bedroom and when I came in, it took a minute or so for him to realise that it was me. Slowly he became more upbeat and soon he was wanting to go home, of course he didn’t know I had moved house.

When he got to the new house, he regarded it strangely, with the one thing that made him feel at home being the very old settee, that we had sat together on for many years. What he missed most was being able to sleep on my bed and that was always his preferred resting place, when I was at home.

Slowly but surely he settled into his new home but he hated me going up stairs and on most nights, I wouldn’t go to bed until 1-2am, with him normally waking me around 6pm or earlier.

It is odd, I hated that he would get me up, but now, I know that I will miss his cry’s telling me that he needed to go into the garden.

For the last 8 years, Reggie had almost always been my constant companion. He was their for me all through mums illness and he was also there during covid. When I was feeling at my worst he would always be there to cheer me up.

Now he is gone, in many ways I have much more freedom, to go out and do thing. Not have to be home by a certain time and eat when I want, instead of when he wants. I don’t have to have a roast chicken every Sunday and I don’t have to take him for his walk, when he wants to go out, at least twice a day.

But none of that mattered. He was Sundance to my Butch. We were a team and we could take over the world and all the freedom in the world doesn’t matter when you can’t have that freedom with you best friend and that is what Reggie really truly was.

When I moved down here I knew he didn’t have forever. In some small recess, I didn’t want him to go on because he wasn’t the dog he once was but he was still my Reggie.

Last night, when I saw the blood coming from his mouth, I was very worried but I was so happy when the vet said it probably was just his gum. When I brought him home, he didn’t settle as I had hoped and it was only 4am that I could pop up stairs to try and get some sleep.

Of course, that didn’t last long. At 6am I heard a crashing sound, so I ran down stairs. Reggie was trying to get up but his back legs wouldn’t let him. I tried to help me but he just fell onto the floor and it took 10 minutes for him to get up but his back legs wouldn’t do what he wanted.

I rang the vets again and after explaining what was going on, they told me to take him back in. The journey to the hospital couldn’t have been nice for him but he was very good.

He allowed me to carry him inside but without support he couldn’t stand. Reggie had always hated the vets and panicked when they tried to touch him. I always hated having to take him because I would always have to hold him when he was being poked and prodded, often against his will.

This time though there was no fight in him. They brought a bed in and I placed him onto the bed, he didn’t fight when they give him a sedative and as he slowly fell to sleep, I stayed by his side. When he went there didn’t seem to be any pain and he went very quickly. The experience, was so much better than when Jamie had passed. I don’t know what Reggie was thinking in those last few minutes but I hope he was feeling calmed by me being at his side.

Reggie was and always will be my best boy. He was a special dog who touched the life of everyone he met. He was ungainly and daft but he was great. Reggie I love you and you will be in my heart forever.