IN LOVING MEMORY OF NIPPER 1991-2006

 

This isn't a short story. It's a tribute to a special friend. I'm crying as I write this - I've lost my best friend. I know everyone thinks their dog is special, the best in the world (leaving aside the cruel heartless bastards who mistreat and abuse their dogs and shouldn't have them in the first place) but to me and my wife and kids, Nipper was special. We've had dogs for over forty years - Nipper was the best, the most faithful, the funniest, the kindest, the most loyal, the most (to pinch a word from Captain Kirk in The Wrath of Khan) "human". Whenever I was cross about something, like following a row, or worried about something, I would take him for a walk, his favourite thing in the whole world, and I would talk to him, and he would look at me as though he understood, and that look on his face helped me through my anger or my troubles. I came downstairs this morning and he wasn't there to greet me - first time in fourteen years and three months..... the world is an emptier place, heaven is a better place today. Nipper, I miss you so much - there are so many memories, so many good times, they were all good times, you were my best mate - simply the best. What can I tell you about him that will hold your interest for a few more seconds? Nothing really, he wasn't your dog - he was mine, and I miss him more than I can say. There's a gaping void in our lives right now, and it will take some filling. At the moment I can't think of anything that will help. The sheer size of his personality defied belief. He was a big dog - bigger than he should have been, because he was a border collie cross, with a greyhound for a Mum - he should have been smaller, but he was huge, labrador size, with a heart the size of England - he loved everyone, postmen, milkmen, dustmen, neighbours, family - and everyone loved him. The people we bought him from called him Badger because he had a huge lightning strike on his head, like a badger's stripe. I called him Nipper because he put his head on one side when you talked to him, while he tried to understand what you were saying, like Nipper, the HMV dog. Dogs die every day, and life goes on. For a while, our lives have stopped. It was like losing a child. But he went peacefully, in his sleep, and he was a good boy to the last. Nipper, you were special, you were our special friend, and our lives were enriched by having you stay with us.