For a while John-Luke claimed not to be an animal person, having never had any pets growing up, and he actually claimed to be scared of dogs! But he did in fact like animals (although maybe not as much as me). Before we had Kiki, we had cats for many years, and he loved to do selfies with Murray (Dexter was too clever and got away before he could be forced into it). We only got Kiki in November 2020, but they quickly became inseparable. He called the two of us ‘his girls’. There are so many photos and videos on JL’s phone of her or the two of them just messing about. He was very proud of Kiki and loved to show her off on his work video calls, taking up the meeting time with his dog stories. It was so lovely to hear him speaking about her so enthusiastically. One time walking her in Lydiard Park a man went past on a bike and shouted ‘that’s a PROPER dog!’ and JL was so happy. He was always proudly telling people that story. They would also go running together, although Kiki would never get up any kind of proper speed alongside him! He called this a dogjog and would always take a selfie before they went out of the door.

When they decided to choose a dog to join the family, John-Luke had some very clear ideas about what sort of creature it should be. It would need to be calm and quiet, not too energetic, not a hairy moulter of a dog, or smelly... in fact he was really looking for a well-behaved human being in canine form! Luckily, such dogs exist: greyhounds! Ellen and JL met three, and soon found 'the chosen one.' They named her Kiki, after the Ghibli movie character. In Japanese, this means 'new beginnings.' John-Luke set up a three-way WhatsApp chat between us, so that I could be a proper hands-on Granny! He was soon posting photos several times a day: Kiki in a new coat; Kiki at the dog field; Kiki having a cuddle on the sofa. This was great, as the advice was to let Kiki meet new people gradually. By the time I actually met her, I felt I knew and loved her already. John-Luke’s postings on Dog Chat meant that I could keep up with the day-to-day happenings as Kiki settled in, and quickly took charge, at no89!

I remember when JL and Ellen first went to meet Kiki. He showed me pics and I fell in love straightaway!! I’ve been campaigning to Sophie for ages to get a dog, as I desperately want one, so as a substitute I’d pester him most days for him to send me pics, which were always totally adorable. This is something Ellen has kindly carried on doing for me! x