Join for part three of our Content and Events Producer Marina’s blog series, about the special story of her little dog Benny. You can read part one here and part two here.
You may recall, reader, that when we last met on this webpage at the start of August this year, I had just upended my sofa and as a family we had all resolved to make do with sitting on a makeshift – floor – level – cushioned – well, giant dog bed. All to ensure little legs absolutely could not jump off or hurl himself up onto anything, so his sprained leg could heal.
Well, it is now almost the end of September, and following over a month’s fight with the spirit of Benny (who has insisted since day two of his visit to the vet that he is absolutely fine and will jump wherever, and whenever he can leading to many a funny moment when taking him out in the car and having to ensure one of the family is stood ready to catch/ stop him flying out of the door as soon as it opens, as just one example) we have finally relented, and decided we can now afford ourselves a normal sofa once again.
And it is glorious…I had forgotten what it felt like to just sit at a normal height, with a back support, on a real, actual sofa! The things we do for our animals…The old sofa had to go of course, as it was too high – and after six weeks of suffering, having to perch on kitchen chairs or flop on the big dog bed with the pooches, I decided it was time to splurge out on a good ol’ secondhand set (I am the eternal Delboy and will never purchase new).
£90 later and a successful Facebook marketplace shop complete! Then followed two stops to collect and battle with detaching, lifting, pushing, driving, unloading and reattaching and hey presto! Here are our two new glorious sofas…Yes, two. Because in the years we had the old sofa, all of the animals and children had got too big to fit on one sofa! So a small positive begins our tale today, from what started as a negative. AND ONE OF THEM RECLINES! Heaven, right there. And also practical, as it means we can leave it reclined at an angle for Benny to safely get up and down without having to throw himself around.
Benny testing out the new recliner
The new sofas – LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIES!
Benny FULLY approving of the new sofa an hour in! And *sigh* yes – that is parts of the old sofa in the background that we forgot to load for the tip run…
Now back to the title of this chapter; Benny’s big adventure. This tiny dog once went on an epic trek – one that landed him with friends across many continents, with people wrapped up in his story and even practically coming forward to help him.
It starts way back in June 2013, when a full of beans two year old Benny was at his height. He’d come into our lives like a whirlwind, asserting his presence at every moment and ready to take on the world! A funny little dog, his curiosity knew no bounds but his biggest need was always love and affection from his people. My son, at that point only 11 years old, had an incredible bond with him, along with our german shepherd Frankie. They were never out of each other’s sight when at home, and it was lovely watching them all grow up together.
Until one day, when I had the call that all dog owners dread; at the time I was part of a comedy duo with my best friend Tess, and we were on tour around Norwich. We’d just finished a two day stint of live performances, ending in a beautiful town called Loddon. Back then, we were headlining which sounds great – but the downside was a late night finish. A long, long drive back to the West Country and our homes in Exeter awaited, and as we clambered into the car following our show, I thought of how much I could not wait to be back at home with my son and the dogs. Cal was happily staying with his friends, Frankie was with my big dog lover friend, and Benny with my small dog lover friend (not many people I know have big dogs and small dogs, and their needs are very different! So always a fun runaround to have them stay with friends who could look after them).
This arrangement had always worked well, and I knew I could go away for work and all of them would be happy and cared for, and I always looked forward to hearing what they’d got up to when I returned.
Benny had been staying with a friend who had had him many times. We looked after each other’s dogs over the years and treated them like our own extended pack families. This friend had recently got two kittens; which Benny was having a lot of fun with! All was well.
The one thing none of us had thought about, however, was the newly installed cat flap for these kittens…Not big enough for a normal sized small dog, of which my friend had two – but certainly big enough for little legs Benny to slip through, following two of his new best mates, the kittens…
I have thought of this friend many times over the years, of the panic and dismay she went through when they discovered Benny was missing. How their whole family went out searching for him, trying everything they could to find him, desperate not to make that call, that in the end they had to…
High on the adrenaline of a fun gig, Tess and I were doing our usual run down of how we thought our show had gone – when we received a phone call from my friend. Tess took it, as I was driving, and I watched the colour drain out of her face: “Ok, slow down – slow down – when did this happen? Ok, let me put you on speaker…”.
I listened to my friend sob her way through the explanation that Benny had gone missing a couple of hours earlier that afternoon, and the only way he could have done so was out of the cat flap. They’d searched everywhere for him, and no one could find him.
“I’m so sorry mate, I’m so, so sorry, I’m so sorry”.
Her tears broke my heart, but in that moment all I could focus on was how very far away from home I was and how powerless I was to start doing anything to find him until I could get 326 miles driven and done.
But Tess didn’t miss a beat; we went into work partner mode, and as I drove she listened to me bark out orders and ideas of who to contact, what to do so at least I could feel like we were doing something as the 5 and a half hours ticked by until we were home…
I didn’t get back that evening until the early hours, but came home to an empty house as I wasn’t due to collect my son Cal or the dogs until the next day. I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t call anyone as it was 3am at this point – but I also couldn’t sit still.
So I drove. Back over to the area where Benny went missing. My friend lives in a tiny village outside of Exeter, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields and farmland. All I could think about was Benny being lost, alone and stranded – so I had to do something.
Dear reader, it still stings me to think about that lonely hour, out there in Alysbere village. I drove up and down dark country lanes with my windows wide open, calling him – sending out the special whistle I teach my dogs so that they know it’s me. Up and down, again and again, until at last fatigue hit me enough that I could go home that evening, knowing I had tried.
And as I returned home, and laid my head on the pillow – my last thoughts as my exhausted brain and body closed me down to sleep was ‘How am I going to tell Cal?’.
Join me next time reader, as I share day one of the great search for Benny…