Once Charley chose me, life was never quite the same again.

He wasn’t just part of our family.

He was the heart of it.

Charley never really had one favourite place to sleep because, as far as he was concerned, anywhere his family was became his favourite place.

Most nights he could be found curled up against Sophie, usually draped across her back or tucked tightly beside her. If I lay on my bed, both dogs would climb up with me, but Charley always made sure he was right at the top, close to me. That was where he felt happiest.

If I was working, Charley had other ideas.

I worked from home making my felted creations, and every morning followed the same routine. The dogs had their breakfast, I had mine, and then together we made the short walk to my workshop.

Charley thought my work should stop whenever he wanted a cuddle.

He would jump onto my desk, sit right in front of me and quietly make it impossible to work until I’d given him the attention he wanted.

He loved being close.

If he could sit on your lap, he would.

If he could climb onto your shoulder, even better.

Steve’s shoulders and even the top of his head became some of Charley’s favourite places in the world.

When we visited Mum, Charley had another special place.

He would squeeze himself into the tiny corner between Mum and the arm of her chair or sofa, wriggling himself down until he was completely snuggled in beside his nanny.

It was as though he always wanted to be touching the people he loved.

Charley didn’t believe he was a small dog.

In his mind he was ten feet tall.

If he thought another dog might be a danger to me, size simply didn’t matter.

One day he decided to challenge two enormous Alsatians.

Their owner was a huge tattooed man who looked at me and said rather aggressively,

“Does your dog want some?”

Without thinking, I smiled and replied,

“No… he’s gay.”

Then I quickly walked away.

The man was left standing there looking completely confused, while everyone around us burst into laughter.

I have to admit, once I was safely out of sight, I laughed too.

Charley had that effect on people.

He made them smile.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Steve.

When Charley first came into our lives, Steve wasn’t really a dog person.

In fact, he couldn’t stand dogs.

But Charley slowly worked his magic.

By the time Charley died, Steve was heartbroken.

The little dog he had never wanted had completely stolen his heart.

Eventually Steve brought home another little dog who looked remarkably like Charley.

Her name is Taz.

Taz makes us laugh every single day.

He’s mischievous, cheeky, full of energy and constantly getting into trouble.

He’s a nightmare…

But he’s our nightmar