My dogs were family but I was asked when I’d replace them [Video]

When my dogs died, the first question on everyone’s lips was when I’d be getting another.

‘Time to visit your local shelter,’ read one response to my Instagram post after their deaths. ‘You need to get another whippet’ and ‘Don’t forget, there are lots of dogs out there who need people like you.’

Amongst thousands of lovely, supportive messages, these were the ones that spoke loudest to me – and they hurt. Despite knowing I needed time to grieve my dogs, I began to feel guilty that I hadn’t rushed out to get another. 

My husband and I adopted our whippet, Jess, in 2018. She’d been mistreated and passed around so we set about showing her what a safe, loving home could feel like. Dogs are resilient creatures and, despite her past experiences, she loved my husband immediately and without hesitation. 

We taught her to climb the stairs so she could share our bed, sleeping under …