Chris had such a love of the outdoors and was always keen to be out in the fresh air, walking or swing through trees. He had always said he wanted a dog and the summer of 2014, when Esmae turned 6 months old, Sarah and Chris decided to get a puppy. 

Both of them had such a love of dogs and spent lots of time with family and friends dogs.

Dexter came to be a part of the family in May 2014 and Chris made it his task to train him and ensure he became a trustworthy and loyal companion. Having a working dog was so important to Chris and he would take Dexter off to shoots and beating with him, although he always joked that Dexter was a little too stupid to do what he was actually supposed to.

When Dexter was about 9 months old, he decided to be a bit of a handful and would regularly run away from Sarah and be defiant, Chris decided to up the training and spent a lot of time and effort with Dexter training him to be obedient and the hard work paid off, Dexter became a loyal companion not only to Chris, but to Sarah and Esmae. 

He was by Chris's side right to the end, a loyal companion for life and his temperament, outstanding behaviour and loyalty is all down to Chris and the effort he put in, to train him well. Some used to think Chris was too harsh on Dexter, but we now see why. 

He was Chris's best friend and always his focus to get up and walk him, whether on chemo or recovering from the many surgeries. In Chris's final months, all he wanted to do was get well enough to be on the beach with Dexter and the children, to take him on a long walk and breathe in that sea air he so loved.