When your best friend and most constant and faithful companion is suddenly taken away, a void opens up and each day is filled with moments of expectation followed by the sudden realisation that he is no longer here to go for walks or to wake you up in the morning. Tessa, the little jack russell cross who came to us when her owner died aged 92, was lost and disoriented. Her whole day revolved around Simon’s routines and suddenly the structure was gone.

Simon accompanied us constantly and in so doing became a well-travelled dog, but it is the small appearances throughout the day that make their deepest mark. When you open your eyes in the morning, there he is sitting waiting. When he was younger he was the alarm clock, putting his paw on the bed. Somehow or another he always knew when you were preparing to go out, even though he was lying out in the garden and I was in the bedroom or putting on my shoes. As I came to the front door, there he was sitting up, fully alert and full of expectation, waiting to get into the car. He never barked for attention or at mealtimes. He was simply confident that in the fullness of time he would be combed and then dinner would be put down for him If guests came and the normal timetable was upset, he would wait patiently knowing that everything would come right in the end.

For many years we walked in the early morning on the beach feeding several tribes of feral cats. They loved him. He was their beacon. As soon as they caught sight of him they knew that food was on its way. Many of the cats, particularly the ones that got to know him from the time they were kittens, would walk between his legs and cling to his hair and jump up, but he accepted all this stoically, even latterly when he was less steady on his feet and having cats running around could cause him to stumble. He never even growled at them but just tried to move away to get more room.

One of the strongest memories of when we went with our friend, Heather, to collect Simon from Suzanne Moorhouse in the summer of 1993 is that of ten fully grown beardies standing up on their hind legs to see us over the fence as we got out of the car! After collecting him we drove back down to London and stayed at Heather’s house inhabited by three Giant Schnauzers. Dee, the only one who understood about puppies, as she had had several litters, put her paw on his head to make him roll over so that she could lick his little fat tummy. That night he slept with these three gentle giants.

The following day we flew to Spain. This was the first of several plane journeys Simon would make. Here we had our first experience of the strong, confident personality that would make him such a pleasure. He took everything in his stride, even though he had just been separated from his mother and siblings. Taking everything in his stride was the hallmark of his existence.

When he was 18 months old we were posted to Bolivia. We broke our trip in Rio de Janeiro so that the journey would not be too long for the dogs (We had another little rescue dog called Paddy who also came with us). Everywhere he went he caused a stir because the Brazilians respond to beauty in any form, and Simon was indeed a beauty. A spell at an altitude of 2,500m. in Cochabamba was followed by an 18 month stint in the tropical jungle where we had to take great care with the bugs and bites, not to mention the other dogs who mostly had mange, but he never caught anything. On our occasional trips to the city of Santa Cruz he became the darling of the people at the hotel, and even won a prize at the dog show where nobody had ever seen such a dog before and they were enchanted by him. He rewarded them by giving the judge a great lick on his face! I was known as “the lady with the dog”.

Then we took an overland trip across the Andes into Chile and travelled down through the desert to the south of the country. Every place was thoroughly inspected and he revelled in the rivers and waterfalls, but above all in the vast Pacific Ocean where he learned to ride the waves. He luxuriated bathing in the sea. Again his faultless behaviour won him friends wherever he went.

Back home it was time for obedience training classes and a chance to meet other dogs in a social situation. Obedience was fine, but Simon’s view was, “Well, I’ve done that now so what is the point of doing it again?” What did come out of this experience was the chance to make an advertisement for a well-known make of feta cheese. This week-long experience was great fun and Simon thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the attention that was showered on him by the film crew.

After this spell at home in Spain we set off once again, this time to Syria. This was a different kind of experience in an urban environment hostile to dogs, which are regarded as “unclean”. However, he made the best of it and even took pleasure in the little things. When the children became too bold, throwing stones at us as we walked along the street, he finally had his revenge by suddenly barking his deep, bass bark and revelling at seeing his tormentors take flight as fast as their legs could carry them. After that they thought twice about engaging in stone-throwing!

Excursions out of Damascus to Palmyra in the desert, to the more northerly towns of Homs and Hama and south to near the Jordanian border were always enjoyable, but the best as far as Simon was concerned was a trip to the coast near Tartous. There, after more than a year without seeing the sea, he sat in the water for two hours, an expression of bliss all over his face - and who cares what the effects of the sea water on the hair will be. A dog must do what he has to do ..!

These last years he spent at home. He loved lying around in the garden and had his favourite spots according to the time of day and the season. The palm tree was a great favourite in the morning but, as the sun moved around, so did Simon until evening saw him stretched out under the trailing honeysuckle.

It would be hard to find a happier dog than Simon. He lived every moment to the full, was confident and ever ready to please. He certainly taught us a few lessons over the span of his life, and our lives have been made richer by the experience of sharing them with him.

August 2nd. 2006