IT is a struggle to adjust.

For the first time in more than 40 years, more than 50 apart from a few months in the 1970s, there is not a dog around the house.

Recently, I had to have my lovely old dog Lucy ‘put to sleep'.

A terrier cross, Lucy came to us from Birmingham Dogs Home at just a few weeks old. Until the last months of her life, she only ever saw the vet annually for her booster jab.

Lucy was an incredible 18 years old when she died.

Often I am asked what our secret was for her health and longevity and the answer is that there is no secret, except perhaps that we were fairly strict with her diet, especially in her senior years.

The main reason, as it is with human life span, is that in this great game of chance called life, Lucy was lucky with her genes.

We been lucky with all our dogs Trixie (16), Biddy (12), Bella (13), Gemma (14), Holly (13) and now Lucy.

As a dog-lover, I enjoyed writing about Forrest Dog Rescue. So will I be going there or to one of the other wonderful dogs homes or rescue centres to find a new companion?

Sadly no, because Lucy will be the last of the line.

My reasons are entirely personal.

All of my six dogs lived a long life and enjoyed good health, Lucy being exceptionally blessed on both counts. But I am a great believer in the law of averages and surely my luck must run out in this respect. Vets fees are horrendous. Owning a pet, especially one with poor or indifferent health, can seriously damage your wealth.

Secondly, a dog is a huge commitment. As Lucy got older and after we lost Holly, her companion for 12 years, we did not want to put Lucy into kennels on her own and so there has been a restriction on holidays in recent years that we have accepted willingly.

Thirdly, age – mine. In the event of having another dog that lived as long as Lucy, it would take me to an age when I cannot know I will be able to provide the care and attention owed to a canine member of the family.

Finally, very few pets pass peacefully away in their sleep. No matter how many times you go through it, that dreadful last visit to the vets never gets any easier.

It is the final act of love to make the decision on the basis of what is best for our pet. Asking the vet, who has both the professional knowledge and emotional detachment, the simple direct question ‘what would you do if it were your dog?’ helped me but the responsibility was mine.

Dog ownership is a great privilege and a life-enriching, lifelong commitment not to be made lightly.

As a rule of thumb longevity is in inverse proportion to size. Smaller and medium-sized dogs, especially with some terrier genes, generally live longer not to mention costing less to feed.

I have owned both pedigree and non-pedigree. One is not better than the other but mongrel and cross-breeds tend to be healthier and live longer.

The other side of the coin is that, if taken on as a young puppy, it is not possible to be sure what you will end up with. As a little puppy, a vet predicted that Lucy would be ‘Alsatian like’ which proved well wide of the mark.

So I say goodbye to dog ownership with its sorrows and great joys.

Ludlow and south Shropshire and Tenbury and the Teme Valley is a ‘doggy’ area where the topic of conversation often turns to dogs and many people ask me about Lucy.

I know that I will look on with great memories and envy when I see people exercising their pets in our lovely countryside.