Milo and Me

The other day, a friend of mine had asked me if i wanted to take their dog a walk along the beach. This sounds sad to say but I had forgotten how much fun it was! I had a ball - not literally, though, should've been more prepared 😉- just fooling around and playing with this daft little four legged pup. 

This got me thinking of my own pup, who would've been 16 today! So this week, I decided to share with you some of my most personal photos and memories of Milo - who was a black and tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the centre of my world for over 14 years. 💙


Since I can remember, my brother and I had always wanted a dog. We were never allowed one and it was always the cliche 'who's going to look after it when your at school and we're at work' and 'you'll just get bored of it' and 'dogs are for life, not just for Christmas'. And so it went on, every.single.time.we.asked... Until one day, when my mum spotted a dog walker in town and had asked him where he got his dogs. This sounds really crazy to some people but when you live in a small town, you literally speak to everyone - and their dog in this case - (and often you find yourself speaking to the dog before the owner - or is that just me?) Anyway, I remember being in town with friends (back when you were 10 and thought you were cool going unaccompanied down the street with your pals) and mum came to collect me. Bearing in mind - this was back in the day when mobile phones were a novelty so goodness knows how she knew where to find me. Anyhoo, she told me we were travelling down the line to visit a puppy. She had been researching Cavalier King Charles Spaniels online for a quite some time and having seen one in town, phoned a recommended - Kennel Club - breeder who had the type of puppy she wanted and invited her down for a visit that day.

I remember out of the litter of puppies, Milo (who was still going by his pedigree name 'Dameron Santana') was the first one to come and greet me. He was the smallest but by far the friendliest. He was about the size of my palm but nevertheless came bounding over to me and I sat with him the entire time when mum was speaking to the breeder (asking her 101 questions - no doubt) just playing and petting him until he fell sound asleep on my lap. Although I was in literal (or litter in this case 😉) heaven with all the puppies in this house, I just knew i had to have him.💙 By the time I had to leave, I already felt like he was mine and felt awful for leaving him.💔 Due to how young Milo was, we had to collect him several weeks later because puppies obviously have to stay with their mum for a certain period of time before coming to their forever homes.

Asleep on my shoulder. He almost looks like he's smiling :') - must be dreaming of something nice 

On the way home in the car, I don't think I shut up (no change there 😉) - I just remember promising to look after him, walk him, bath him and all the rest that you have to swear on oath to your parents when you're ten years old in order to get a four legged furry little friend. We went to the pet shop in town to get all that he would need before collecting him. I remember getting the honour of choosing his name 😎 and Milo just felt right. It suited him because he was sooo cheeky and Milo was different to all the usual dog names you usually hear - I thought he deserved an unusual name because he was the new cool kid on the block. On the way up the road Milo cried and cried and cried until, realising that he was too, only a baby, I gave him my pinky to suck on and he did this for 3 hours solid until we reached home. It sounds crazy but did the trick. He was just like a little baby. 😊 

Once he was home, he was a bundle of energy - running about the house - exploring all the nooks and crannies and 'marking his terrority' 😳. We soon got round this though because we placed a literal path of papers through the house (sounds daft but it worked) showing him the way to the back door where he could go out and use the toilet. Once he knew the route to the back door he was the most cleanliest dog i'd ever met and rarely made a mess in the house. Even when he took his food, his water or a biscuit from your hand - he was so gentle and never spilled a drop. The night he came home we put an alarm clock under the blankets in his bed because the ticking mimicked the sound of his mother's heartbeat. (Yes, we really are that sad). Anything to make him feel at home and settled. I'm also pretty sure my granny waited 2 and a half hours for tea and toast that night because we kept burning it - we were too distracted by Milo! Poor gran! 😜

Cuddles with my boy. He loved napping as much as I did 😄

I remember taking him to school one day (it wasn't against the rules 😉) and showed him off to everyone in my class. He was so friendly and cheeky. Everyone fell in love with him. 

The following years passed and Milo became a huge part of the family household. We got to know all his little quirks and what made him tick. His favourite meal was boiled chicken and rice but this didn't come before his one true love - Judy - a Jack Russell who had no more interest in him than fly in the air 😂💔 - but he still followed her relentlessly when they were together. Puppy love! 💗

Milo, despite his cheeky ways, came from a long history of pedigree dogs - a lot of who had previously won Crufts and had also featured in many information books on Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. This, however, was not the reason I decided to show him locally. The first time we showed him was on a Saturday and dad and I were milling around and when we saw the advertisement for the dog show, dad asked me if i wanted to show him and I said I would, just for the laugh. I didn't realise how serious everyone took the dog show! It was a shock. All these dogs standing beautifully still with their owners and Milo is standing with me - chilling - tongue hanging out because it was such a hot day. When the judge came over Milo started wagging her tail and giving her 'kisses.' Me, trying to present him in the best way possible just smiled and petted him, waiting for the result. In the end, he won friendliest dog, waggiest tail, best pedigree pup and  best pup in show! He came home to show everyone where he stood regally beside his trophies. 

Not only did Milo win over hearts wherever he went, he was also incredibly clever and could detect certain health issues in family members even in the middle of the night. He would pre-warn you that something was about to happen - franticly running around, scratching at the door and crying until you woke up and followed him to go and check. Low and behold within minutes the person's health would deteroriate and Milo would sit with them until they came round and would not allow anyone else near them. He really was incredibly protective, even though he was peedie. :) 

Milo was also very much a 'pack' dog and hated if we were all out a walk with him and one of his went up ahead or went to leave. He would howl until we were reunited as a group once again and he was happy to continue on his walk. He was incredibly loyal and at half past 3 (when I got out of school), he would climb up into the window and watch for me coming off the school bus and then meet me at the door. As I got older, Milo would sit with me when I was studying for hours on end or if I was at my desk, he would sit at my feet. He also met me each time I came in from a night out to make sure I was home safe. 💗

Although Milo was incredibly loving and loyal - he was also a little mischief! One night in the snow, he escaped out the gates at the bottom of our garden and went exploring. Thankfully it had been snowing heavily and so I was able to follow his footprints right round to my friends house where he had followed my scent. Funnily enough, I think it was in the genes because the rest of the puppies in his litter were all bought from people in Buckinghamshire for showing professionally and each and everyone of the puppies had jumped walls and fences. So they too, were little escapees! 
Milo was also incredibly fly! He would get hold of what he knew was the most important thing for you if you weren't giving him your up-most attention. He would first paw at you to give him attention but if you were busy working, he would take a pen, an important piece of paper - whether it be college work, homework, the newspaper or the money in your purse - and once he got hands on it he would not give it up until he got a treat, a cuddle or a walk. 😊


Milo also loved Christmas. I always made such a big thing about it with him, too, he was my child! It really is so sad! Doggy advent calendars, Christmas jumpers, Christmas hats and perfectly wrapped presents that were just open enough that he could get his claws in and open them up for himself. He just loved opening Christmas presents and one year when I was away for a weekend shopping, he opened all the Christmas presents under the tree to rebel against me in my absence! If you came home from a trip, he would always look for a present from you especially if everyone else had one so you had to be extra careful you got him something good!

Santa's little helper obviously had a busy Christmas this year.

Home after a day at the dog groomers.

Another milestone in Milo's life was his first trip to the dog groomers. I was reluctant to trim his coat because if I wanted to show him professionally then I would have to keep his natural coat, but living in the north where the weather is cold, wet and windy - a natural coat with long feathers is not practical for him or me. We travelled to the dog groomers in the car. It took about thirty minutes and when we got there, it was like my child's first day at school! I was an emotional wreck! I couldn't part with him. The lady was very nice but I remember sitting outside and waiting to see if he was crying and to see whether the groomer was speaking to him nicely (this sounds hilarious but to me it was so important because he couldn't tell me how he got on and I wouldn't put him back if he was unhappy!)

Another photo, Lauren - really? His coat looks so silky in this photo.

Milo really was a spoilt dog, no question about it. However, I always said why bother having a dog if you're not going to spoil them? The very first night we got Milo, he whimpered at being left on his own in his bed. Taking pity on him, my brother and I realised he was missing his mummy so took his bed to our parents bedroom to sit at the bottom of their bed. Within no time at all, he was up on-top of the bed - snoring and that's where he stayed!  He had a charm and those puppy dog eyes definitely got him onside pretty quickly. 

Writing this blog post right now -  the wind is howling outside and I know for a fact where Milo would be if he was here. He would be curled up on-top of my bed beside me lying on the hot water bottle and if the night got cooler, he would dig under the blankets until he was cosy inside. 

Superdog. Milo lying in one of his many spots throughout the house where he could take a nap.

Writing a blog post about Milo has been so lovely because I love to share with everyone just a few things about the kind of dog I was so lucky to own. I'm a great believer in 'everything happening for a reason' and I feel that Milo was definitely worth the very loooong wait I had for a dog and he came at just the right time. I feel my life is a lot fuller since I had Milo because I believe, every time someone loves a dog, a part of that dog's heart is left with them. I don't know whether he taught me to be less quick to judge, or to see joy in every day or whether just to stay loyal to those I love and love with all my heart. 

Even though he isn't here anymore, there are parts of him that stay with me and he was definitely here to help me in some way or another through some of the roughest parts of life.

💙Milo 6/02/01 - 27/7/15 💙

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This post is more of a personal snippet. I hope you enjoyed! 

Leave me a comment if you're feeling nice. 😊

Lots of love, 

Lauren

xoxo