My darling Spaniel had to be put down last night. He was mydear "old boy" and he was one of the main reasons that I painted landscapes. We shared many years together jumping over ditches and creeks, wading through rivers and paddling in seas, walking through woods covered in bluebells (and adders!) and jumping through deep snow.Sometimes we ended up in places where we could have been the only people on earth but I never felt frightened with him by my side. He was enthusiastic in anything he did , and he truely was "love on a lead" (this is the nickname for their breed.) We would come home exhausted and while he lay happy in the garden or in front of a coal fire, I would start a painting from my sketches. After a while he would come over and lie at my feet and I would absent mindedly stroke him .Ah! Heaven on earth. Goodbye my dear friend xxx