Oh, and Sorcha, whilst my children were growing up, I had four dogs, Badger, Bluebell, Rosie and Gruffy, with Toffee being at the start of their lives, Rosie coming in as they grew older. Throughout it all those dogs went everywhere with us, and I pushed the pram, then the pushchair, with two dogs on either side of me. I walked everywhere, as I don't drive, and the dogs went out twice a day, often right up the huge hill on to the moors, where they'd run free.

Never, in any of those times, did they misbehave towards any other human or animal.

I have had dogs all my life long, never lived without an animal apart from a couple of weeks, between my old cat, Sooty dying, and Ben, a black collie coming into my life. We took him to show our next door neighbours, and they gingerly disappeared to their back room, coming out with the sweetest black and white kitten, which they'd bought as a surprise for me, as they knew how upset I was at losing Sooty, he was 20 when he died.

Sooty had belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, two doors down..and when their daughter, Helen, had died at just 8 years old, Mrs. Johnson went into deep grief, turning to alcohol. She couldn't bear to have Sooty around her, as he'd been Helen's cat. She used to dress him up and put him in her pram with her dolls..and he was so soppy that he let her do that.

Sooty became a sad cat. Lost and lonely, never allowed in the house....He befriended me, and we'd play for ages together. He never once tried to come into our house, though, as we had a golden spaniel at that time, a dear soul, called Lucy.

When Lucy died, the day she died, Sooty walked in through the back door and he never left. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson gave him to me, with their blessing. She went on to kick the alcohol and get her life back on track, getting a new cat eventually. Sooty never went back there, but stayed with us, where he was loved until his dying day.

So please, don't ever imagine that I know nothing about animals..because they have been my best friends at times...They have comforted me in times of deep grief and always, ALWAYS been there for me, as I have been for them.

Responsibility is not just a himan thing, and my animals have always taken as much care of me, as I have of them.

Just so's you know.