Sprite came to live with us in May 2005 just before my son’s communion so he managed to get himself into most of the photos! He was a beautiful (to us anyway) Pointer dog who had had a bad owner who had cut most of his tail off. So whenever we took him to dog shows it needed a very small entry for him to excel. His finest moment came on 31 August 2008 when he finished first in the Monivea Dog Show pointer class and you guessed it – he was the only competitor! He was very happy that day. However Christmas was a terribly sad time for us this year as Sprite deteriorated very fast. We took him to the vet who tried to save him but alas he never woke up from his operation. Sprite left us at 3.15pm on 30th December 2008. We buried him as the sun set on New Year’s Eve in the most picturesque part of the gardens where he will forever look on the river that he so enjoyed swimming in and opposite the woods where he would accompany me on my walks. Sprite did have a good life with us (I hope and believe). He had over 30 acres to explore and had other dogs to play with who were owned by people who lived in our courtyard. He loved to chase the horses and the postman and most of all he loved to sleep. Many was the time I have heard a terrible noise from the back kitchen and found Sprite fast asleep and loudly snoring (what I would give to hear it again). After sleeping he loved to eat and enjoyed a good appetite until near the end. But most of all Sprite loved my son Hugh and Hugh loved him. Even as he was dying he perked up when Hugh came to see him. My son is heartbroken with the loss of Sprite and indeed so am I. I would therefore like to remind anyone reading this to cherish your pet, one foolishly believes that they will always be there and they won’t and they are very hard to live without so please treasure every day.