Lola is in the midst of her busiest family gathering as the only dog in the family.

Ordinarily at family gatherings she and Hugo worked the room together. Him all showbiz, a confident white male, shmoozing  people with his glamour and eccentricity.

But Hugo left the building in December. Leaving Lola the enormous responsibility of  attending their human Great Grandmothers funeral alone. Where normally she just requisitioned cuddles, she has been obliged to both Schmooz and Cuddle.

With an age range of 3 to 95 she has had her work cut out. Cuddles remain her priority but also gratefully accepting smuggled snacks from the mourners who attended the Funeral After-Party on the day. And then helping the family to eat left over After-Party food for the next 24 hours.

Her world has been primarily consoling and accepting compliments. The very mature mourners from her Great Grandmothers Dance clubs obviously waited to share kindly words with family members before they left the After-Party but Lola had her own queue of departing well-wishers.

As her minder I spent a lot of time saying farewell to peoples knees while keeping lola on her very best behaviour with quiet tickles.

Saying goodbye to people predominantly from the knee down was an illuminating experience for me Women who are over 80 and still dancing have not given up their heels in the same way many other women have. Shoes that would not look out of place on the dance floor queued patiently to say farewell to the great grand dog.

No rest for the only dog, the next day her closer family set off to the depth of the New Forest for some Forest Bathing. A long walk in bright sunshine amongst massive trees.

Which is why this morning she is very determinedly sleeping.