Our laundry room has two doors, one leading directly to the garage, the other to a side door, giving us the option of exiting the house from either the garage or the side of the house. In the laundry room which doubles as a 'mud room', itself leading to a short hallway with the first-floor powder room and kitchen leading off the hallway, we keep our outdoor wear and those of our puppies. They don't wear their collars in the house, these hang above a small sink in the room, for ready access when we're leaving the house.

While doing the laundry this morning I happened to glance up at two collars no longer used, belonging to Button and to Riley, our beloved miniature and toy poodles. Riley's renewed municipal license tag has the bold numbers '15 on it. His tag was renewed for 2015, and cruel fate decided he would not share that year with us.

Since we lost him we have noticed what seems like a proliferation of puppies with their owners walking through the ravine. Not hugely numerous, but in our state of mourning, seemingly significant. People lose their valued companion animals and take in others to fill the void in their lives. We had discussed the issue between us and reached a consensus, truly sincerely held, that our days of enjoying the companionship of a trusting little animal had reached its end. We would never again bring a little dog into our lives. We had agreed that the companions we had already lost, Button and Riley were irreplaceable, and we had no intention of attempting to replace them.

Despite which we both succumbed to our perceived need to have that companionship renewed through the presence of other little dependents. And so, Jack and Jill entered our lives. The pain of losing a valued companion is of course not ours alone; many other bereaved pet owners feel the anguish of loss as acutely as we have done.

Barbara, one of our ravine acquaintances, certainly does. She now has another puppy upon whom she dotes. Understandably, the same breed as the one she had lost. Berrie is now seven months old. She had been irrepressibly enthusiastic when we'd first seen her months ago, excitedly rambunctious and difficult to control for Barb. Berrie, because of her size and her strength, and Barb's somewhat fragile condition, is left off leash going through the ravine. Barb trusts Berrie to return to her when she's called, and occasionally she does just that.

Berrie's personality has undergone a bit of a leavening off; her enthusiasm is still intact, but her behaviour is a tad less physically exuberant. When she saw us yesterday she rushed over while Barb was still clambering up the long, somewhat steep hill to the bench situated on the crest of a hill, where we were sitting in the sun. Berrie endearingly didn't jump at us this time, but prostrated herself beseechingly before us, begging to be noticed, to be rubbed, and to be admired, a beautiful and healthy young Irish Setter.