Cap the Collie

Cap hiding in the Hostas!

It's a very sad day today for me and Lizzie – it's exactly one year since we lost our beautiful Cap. If you've not had the privilege to have had a dog like Cap living with you for nearly fifteen years then it's hard to explain what a void is left when they leave you. Cap was truly my best friend – I spent more time with him than anyone and he travelled with me where ever I went in the UK.

There wasn't a better fellow for sharing sport with, he'd run for hours alongside a mountain bike, track me from the ground when I was flying my paraglider and climb any mountain I could.



He brought massive character to the shop and people came in just to see him. His settee at Mountainfeet is still there and I couldn't bear to see it go. Even when enthusiastic children got a bit boisterous with him, he never snapped – in fact I've never seen a more tolerant dog.

When you were feeling blue he'd climb on your lap for a hug – you'd soon feel better about things. He wasn't an attention seeker and he could take or leave being patted or stroked – what he really lived for was being outdoors and active. Which fortunately for him was the same for us!



I remember when he first turned up at our door, an unwanted farm dog from a rescue. An inquisitive black and white face with stick-up ears in front of a skinny body with an incredibly fluffy coat! He looked like a cross between a badger and a husky and I fell in love instantly. Lizzie and I were the luckiest people in the world that day – no way we could know then what quality he was going to bring to the next fifteen years...

Today, I'm sitting here writing this and missing him so much...