RIP Stig

I always had a feeling about 2010 and sure enough it’s turning into my horrible anus.

My best mate in the whole world passed away on Tuesday.

He was also a good runner and enjoyed his refuelling sessions and, my, could he drink! But I used to train with him regularly and it was only the passing of years and my emergence as a much better athlete than him which curtailed our joint training sessions.

I have had his constant company for around twelve years now and in that time so close had we got that he always slept in my room. To be honest his snoring, sleepwalking, breaking wind and frequent visits to the toilet for a drink kept me awake but I came to appreciate that him doing so tended to deflect attention away from me.

The day had started so well - he went off for his morning constitutional when his eye caught a squirrel ... and that was it, he was away. Diving and crashing through the undergrowth he didn't catch the thing of course ... but there again he never did. In fact he was the worst hunter I'd ever come across. Unfortunately, though, the effort he'd expended was too much for him and the poor fella had some kind of heart attack, seizure or stroke and collapsed when he came back in the house.

His time had come. I think he knew it. And he parted with the tiniest wag of his tail – as he lay on the table in the vets.

He was much loved and much appreciated for his companionship and he’ll be much missed.

See you sometime later Stig.

Of course the demise of the old boy had a pretty devastating affect on the family. With Haille Minogue gone awol somewhere in Africa, the Droog was inconsolable and we were conscious of the fact that The Sod would come home to find one of the dogs missing. I wanted to try and break it to him gently but, as usual, my efforts backfired.

You see I thought it would be sensible to try and avoid use of the words Dog and Dead in the same sentence. But I suppose telling the lad I'd got good news and bad news for him wasn't the best approach - he wanted to hear the good news first and when I said he'd only have to take one dog for a walk the shilling dropped. The Half Share hinted that I could have been a little more sensitive to his feelings. Well, actually, what she said was that I was selfish, cruel, heartless and as cold as a polar bear's backside - but you get my drift.

It’s taken me a while to get round to this - but he was a great mate.

Bye lad.

Keep on tapering (sorry Stig)

Ron