Moartea câinelui Patch și decizia impulsivă privind cenușa lui

From the minute I saw him, Patch and I were inseparable. It’s no exaggeration to say he was the only consistent, loyal male figure in my life.He knew my every emotion. He fell asleep with me every night, his heart beating next to mine. He’d sit in the bathroom while I had a bath; snuggle up to me when I was sad.He was my soulmate… well, my soul-dog. Because Patch was my miniature Jack Russell.Which is why, when he died last month, I knew I couldn’t just let him go. I wanted to carry him with me, to feel the continued comfort of his presence.So, once he’d been cremated, I made a decision some might call me mad for – I had his ashes mixed with the tattoo ink I was using for my semi-permanent eyeliner.Now, Patch is able to see the world through my eyes – literally.The funny thing is, Patch came into my life by accident. Twenty years ago, my friend’s dog had a litter and, although my first husband and I already had a Jack Russell called Madge, I said I’d take one of the litter.The one that was marked down as mine was Patch’s brother. But on the day I went to pick him up, it was Patch that clambered onto my lap, and I just knew he was meant to be mine. ‘Patch knew my every emotion. He fell asleep with me every night, his heart beating next to mine. He’d sit in the bathroom while I had a bath; snuggle up to me when I was sad,’ writes Claire HobsonHe became my constant companion. Although I had Madge and then Gypsy, the chihuahua I rescued after Madge died, Patch was different.It was he who comforted me through my first divorce aged 31. Though I subsequently remarried, Patch remained my truest companion.When that marriage ended in 2024 when I was 42, and I was left rattling around alone in a massive house in Staffordshire, Patch became the only thing I looked forward to coming home to.I had my own business as a semi-permanent make-up artist – applying eye make-up, lipstick and even blusher using tattooing techniques, so it lasts for up to two-and-a-half years before you need a top-up – and I’d converted part of the house into a clinic so I could work from home part of the time.Whenever I didn’t have clients, I raced to be with Patch. Every evening we’d snuggle up on the sofa together, and he always slept in my bed.Yet by this year Patch was a very old dog, aged 20, and had been having seizures. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I lost him, which was something I couldn’t bear to think about. While the endings of my marriages had been painful, the idea of losing Patch was worse.I thought his time was up around Christmas last year but he pulled through. He just kept hanging on; I think he knew he had to stay with me until the divorce was settled and the house was finally sold, which happened just a few months ago. He felt I couldn’t be without him during such a difficult time.One morning early last month, I was about to leave for work at another clinic when something in my gut told me to take Patch with me.A few h