In 2022, I thought a lot about Woozle
Published on 14 December 2022
He came to us by accident. We didn’t seek him out but he needed a home and we had space so we took him in. It was the best decision we made in our lives. He made us feel like a complete family.
He was with us right from the start, when we got engaged. Such happy memories and endless possibilities of life to come. At the wedding he carried our rings.
Our friends, neighbours and acquaintances loved him too. Even my work colleagues knew his name and asked after him. They all knew how special he was to us.
He particularly loved family get-togethers. We couldn’t have kids of our own but he fitted right in. Our nephews and nieces took him under their wing and made sure he was part of their games, bought him presents and made him cards. He’d always get first dibs on sofas and car seats.
He brought our people together. He was good like that. We did a lot of walking together, which is the most wonderful thing. He was always with us.
“He helped us through the trauma of childlessness – an unseeable grief. He instinctively knew what to do. Sometimes he’d insist we were all together to talk it out. Sometimes he took each of us on long walks and listened to our rants and tears. He glued us together when it could so easily have torn us apart.”
When my Mum became very poorly he was good at cheering her up. That cheered us up too and helped us through a tough time. He was a deployable love bomb. He was with us when my Dad had a stroke. He saw him shaking uncontrollably on the floor and tried to comfort him and us. We think it deeply affected him but he kept smiling, for our sake.
He helped us through the trauma of childlessness which was unexpectedly the hardest thing: an unseeable grief. He instinctively knew what to do and always made sure we were both OK. Sometimes he’d insist we were all together to talk it out. Sometimes he took each of us on long walks and listened to our rants and tears. He glued us together when it could so easily have torn us apart.
“He’s gone now and our hearts are aching so much. I know it will pass but for now home feels wrong.”
He was our very own little ginger counsellor. He was only just over a foot tall and his breath could be unbearable but he had a big heart, endless wags and a hop and skip in his step. It was hard to describe what he was – there was definitely some terrier in there but we like to think of him as a Woozle. Totally unique.
He’s gone now and our hearts are aching so much. I know it will pass but for now home feels wrong; outside feels wrong. We don’t quite know what to do with ourselves.
I’ve had a proper cry – the first one in 10 years of grief. It feels like a relief. I like to think of it as his last, parting, loving gift.
You’ve gotta love dogs. Dogs are amazing.