Wishful Thinking joined our household when she was 4½ years old. She was born in 1972, and raised as a show dog by Judith Hancock, of Hawkhill Kennels in Derbyshire, a famous breeder in the Springer world.

Wishful's pet name in the kennels was “Wishy” but somehow I couldn't see myself going out at night calling “Wishy” for her to come in! So we changed it to “Mishy”, a soundalike which she accepted very quickly.

Shortly after we got Mish, my mum also got a “second hand” model from the same kennels, called “Thelma”. My mum didn't like the name, so she became “Melba”!

Melba had one of those round wicker dog baskets only really big enough for one dog, but when we used to go to stay with my mum, our Mish used to insist on squeezing herself in to it beside Melba. Without the element of competition of who was top dog in the basket, left to her own devices she probably would have preferred a comfy chair! Melba was very laid back about it, as you can see - and would have been the one to move out, if push came to shove! [Melba is the one who is sitting up]