It is our 25th wedding anniversary this year. As a treat we have booked a couple of days away in a spa hotel in Buncrana, which means the girlies will have to be looked after. So last night we took them to the kennels for the first time. A first time for them, and a first time for us, as we have always had people available to look after our animals and never had to board them. It has been hard.

I cried.

I looked at their trusting faces when mummy told them to wait. They look to me because I am home with them every day in the week, so they trust me implicitly. I told them to wait, and they did, and I left them.

Elfie was howling a long mournful howl before we had even left.

But it is Luna I worry about. She is such a worry wort, and was shaking when we had only got her harness out. She has been after the cats toys for weeks, particularly a toy called ‘Tattyrat’. Today, I will be buying her a ‘Tattyrat’ of her very own. Especially since she killed her first mouse this week. – Terriers have gotta do what they’ve gotta do!

We are lost, no dogs to sing wee war woo woo to when we are letting them out for a toilet (I know we are mad!). Nobody to put biscuits down for, it is just weird. We were looking forward to having the bed to ourselves, but neither of us could sleep properly, with no Elfie oomper loompered on you, or Luna snuggled between us, and Pixie Poptart laying on our heads, as they do every night.

Daisy the cat is especially lost. She has been looking for them everywhere, in and out to the garden, she won’t touch her milk and cream or munchies. When Diddies died I thought Daisy would be lonely, but we had Elfie and Harley and Daisy has been with dogs since the day we brought her home. In fact one of her nicknames is Catdog because she acts so doglike at times. So I suppose Elfie was her company after Harley then died. United in grief. Then along came the tiny terrierists, who she quickly put in their place, and we didn’t realise just how much they were her new family. Now she is extremely sad, lying on the cushion in the windowsill they all share, looking out of the window for them.

This is only for one night, a tester for the three nights in August and September, when we go to see Les Miserables in Belfast. We do have to have a life outside of them, but our dogs are our children, and it is hard.

It is safe to say we are lost. Roll on this evening.

Moisy