Olive

We had to say goodbye to our beautiful golden retriever Olive a couple of weeks ago. She really was the goodest of girls and the fluffiest of floofs. After ten and half years there was literally no part of our lives where she wasn't present - we just can't imagine life without her. We still expect to see (and hear!) her tail wagging as she senses us coming closer. Family Hicks are devastated, and miss her so much it physically hurts. I haven't been able to finish this post until now, as the sadness is just overwhelming.

She was only ten years old, so we thought we'd have a bit more time with her. In the end, we had three more weeks than her diagnosis promised. The last few weeks have been horrible, but instead of dwelling on her illness, I wanted to remember some of the daft things she did. Dogs definitely have personality.

Her sense of direction was amazing - she knew where she wanted to go. Like the time I let her lead on the walk, and she led me into town and up to the door of a coffeeshop. She had only been there once before and spent the whole time staring out at a man eating a bacon sandwich, willing him to offer it up. She was obviously hoping for another chance.

She had a thing for dining tables, both at our house and at the in-laws. We'd turn our backs for a few seconds after tidying up the dinner things, and she'd be lying on the table like a sphinx.

She had no interest in chairs, unless she saw someone heading towards one, in which case she would sprint to get there first.

Rolling around in the grass was a favourite pastime, and within seconds have a dirty head.

Mid-sleep, she'd sit upright and look around as if to say "Is this the dream? Or reality?". You could see here realise it was the latter, because she would huff and go back to sleep.

Goodbye Olive, thank you for being a part of our lives. We were so lucky to have you x