As I sit here typing this blog post, I have seven dogs surrounding me. Seven.

Our three: Dre, Snoop and Reddy.
My mum and dad's pooches: Abby and Max.
And my brother's two dogs: Gizmo and Milo.

It's a temporary situation while we wait to move into our house in a few months, and it's fair to say that it's driving us all crazy. When you throw seven dogs together they bark too much, scratch too much and generally get under our feet all the time.

We're over it! Except Lila. She's having a ball, especially with frail, timid Max, who is afraid of the world – she chases him while shaking toys at him, giggling with glee as he scampers away, terrified. Little sociopath!

Today I happened upon a blog post written by Malcolm Turnball after his beloved Mellie passed away, and it was so heartfelt. Of course, I cried my eyes out by the time I got to the end. Here it is, for those who are interested in a good weep – or who just want to appreciate their pooches a tiny bit more today:

Dear little Mellie, you were such a brave, fond and loyal friend. All your pack will miss you and never be quite the same without you.