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I can't draw anything right now, so this contains mostly photos.
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Billie: The Best Dog. Ever.


I write this with a heavy heart because Billie is gone. I'm not going to write about his his death, but rather his life, because he was such a vital dog, who made our lives so much better.

 

I met Billie and Duncan at the same time over 13 years ago when I rented a studio above their flat in Lyttelton. Billie was less than a year old and had been rescued from Bad Stan, a man who used to keep him cooped up in a cage on a concrete slab.

 

We gave him a much better life than that. Billie traveled everywhere with us, usually by foot, or in a Land Rover but sometimes by plane as we went from New Zealand to Melbourne to England and to Spain. He took his last plane trip back to New Zealand for his retirement. We thought that he would be retired for a long time but I guess retirement didn't really suit him.

 

I'd like to remember the things that were best about Billie even if at the time I didn't realise it:

  • The way he bounced around and barked every single time we went out for a walk.

  • He loved his routines and would follow you around and stare at you until you fitted into them, whether it was time to nap in the studio, time for a walk or time for dinner.

  • He would lick your toes if you took your socks off.

  • Even if he didn't want to go on a particular walk with you he would if you insisted. When we walked 200 miles from coast to coast in the UK he followed us through everything the weather and terrain threw at us. After a futile, initial protest, he walked  10 miles in driving rain and gale force winds to get from Keld to Kirkby Stephen, even though he thought we were mad to do so.

  • He loved pubs more than we did (and we love pubs) and would give us away by dragging us into them when we were walking around a new town.

 

There are many more great things to remember about Billie as he was such a fun dog to be with. it's hard to think that he won't be there when I get back to New Zealand in October.

 

I miss you Billie



Copyright © 2018 Alex Hallatt's Cartoons and Writing, All rights reserved.


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