Animals we have loved

Posted on 2019-02-27 17:17:59

Do you have fond memories of a dog, cat or other pet that meant the world to you when you were younger? Please share your story with us and your pet could be featured in our next newsletter. In this issue, we feature Heather Hensman’s childhood playmate, Laddie.

As a young girl, Heather’s family owned a lassie-type collie – hence the name, Laddie – who was an amazing companion to her. “He was the most divine dog – a really exceptional pet. We played endlessly together,” she says.

Laddie patiently allowed himself to be dressed in clothes, and ridden around the garden like a horse. But his favourite game was hide-and-seek.

"He used to go and put his face in my mom’s lap and I’d go and hide,” Heather recalls. “He had no sense of smell whatsoever! Any fool could have found me but he was so excited when he eventually found me in a cupboard or someplace.”

In those days, you couldn’t buy dog pellets as you do today. Laddie’s food was a mixture of meat, bread and veggies. “He used to pick out the bread and bury it in the garden,” Heather remembers. “You’d be digging in the garden to plant something and come across all this disposed of bread.”

Laddie is long gone now, but his memory lives on. He’ll always be a precious part of Heather’s life – a faithful, funny and playful presence that completed her childhood