Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Colleen
The phone rang early this morning, I'm a tad confused by the name on the screen ... "Morning." I'm instantly aware that something is wrong, the voice at the other end of the line is broken, this was not going to be one of our usual calls of banter and piss-taking. He continued, "I've got some bad news. I lost Colleen yesterday, and I thought with your animals being your everything that you'd understand how I'm feeling." My heart hurt for him, I cried with him, Colleen was his everything. He'd had her for 34 years, which is over half of his life. What do I say? What can I say? It's too early for the platitudes; it's too early to say very much at all other than listen and be kind ... he's not just the guy who fixes my computer, he's a friend. I've not come across many more dedicated to his horse, and my heart hurts for him.
