Goodnight my precious boy

 

I have tried to write this a number of times now but it is so hard and I still can't quite believe it is true.

On Monday 25th March 2025 I lost my sweet little man Stanley.

He was just a couple of weeks shy of his 14th birthday, and boy did we have an incredible 14 years together.

I'm not sure that I have the words to say how much I loved him, or what joy he brought to my life but I feel like I have to try to share something to honor the my special little man.

Stanley was the dog who slept in my bed, who guarded me whilst I was in the shower and who rode on the passenger seat of my car, barking in agreement if I had reason to beep my horn.

As a young dog, we did agility and obedience together. Nothing competitive, but he always used to wow the trainers who didn't believe that tiny dogs could do these sports.

He also used to accompany me to work in children's homes and mental health units and proved to be a great therapy dog to my clients who would fight over who got to hold the lead when we went out walking, who got to feed him.

Stanley was a huge dog in a small dogs body. He was confident and bold, always up for anything and always right in the middle of things with the standard girls. He could out run them for a ball and if anyone tried to bully him he'd teach them a lesson!

As he got older, Stanley enjoyed gentler walks and garden centre visits, where he has his own fan club. Car rides were always a source of great pleasure - he loved a drive thru and would get the odd cheese burger as a treat and then make happy noises whilst eating it.

He was a great Uncle to each of our standard litters and present for every birth, guarding and watching over the mama dog quietly as she whelped.

He would gently sniff at each puppy as soon as mama's back was turned and whenever I took in a foster orphan puppy Stanley would sit with us whilst we bottle fed and keep them company.

He didn't much like the puppies once they turned into hooligans and were bigger than him, but he really loved the tiny baby stage.

One of Stanley's greatest loves in life was my Mum, his 'Nana' and if I told him that we were going to Nanas house his little eyes would glisten and his tail would not stop wagging. Whenever we pulled into the road where my Mum lives, he would begin to sing with excitement and shake with anticipation! Once we got inside he would throw himself into my Mum's arms. He really did have the most special relationship with her.

Nana's house always had lots of treats for him to sniff out and he especially liked to see if the cats had left any biscuits in their bowl for him.

Stanley had a great life. He had Christmas dinners and road trips and holidays. He had Dartmoor and beaches and garden centres and training classes and he had his very own pack of bitches to boss around. He had more human friends than I think I have and he was so very loved.

Stanley spent every evening sat on my chest with his head on my shoulder like a baby. It was where he was happiest. And that is how he left me, whilst I cradled him and told him how proud I was of him, how much I loved him and thanked him for everything.

My heart is broken and still can't believe that I will never kiss his little nose again.

I miss him so so much and where he once was there is just a huge emptiness.

But I am so very grateful for the last 14 years. He was the best friend I could ever have asked for.

Sleep tight little man.

I will never stop loving you.