Rosie and Archie's beautiful faces adorn my pbase galleries, filling so many pages with joy and happiness...until they both went and died on me in 2010 when there was briefly anguish, misery and tears but soon the dog shaped holes they left were being admirably filled with Lola (above) and JD. That's not to say I don't still feel the grief of losing them, it's just that I can manage that grief now because I have two little treasures who rely on me for their happiness and well-being. For a short while, their images were equally prominent in my galleries but then "boom". The joy went out of photography when I found myself in the most depressing job I have ever encountered and my heart and soul imploded. It's hard to find beauty if you're in a place where banality and gloom fill your daily life.

One of my main reasons for buying a camera and starting to take photos again was the realisation that while my precious Rosie and Archie's lives had been documented in great and joyful detail here on pbase, Lola and JDs world has not been written in the ether in the same manner. Hence it's fitting that the first day I own my new camera, I shove it in Lola's face and shoot her pleading with me to open the back door and unleash her on an unsuspecting world where there are limitless sniffs and experiences to give her pleasure.

She's eight years old this summer. How can I forget that Rosie died only a couple of days after I celebrated 50 years on this earth? I can't. It's seared into my memory with a branding iron. Weeks later, the dog shaped hole was becoming a chasm. I started hunting for someone to ease my pain and here she is easing my pain still and filling my heart with love every day. There is nothing like the undivided love they bring or the unbridled joy. I recommend it with all of my heart.