I was delighted to have these lovely photos and comments from Eileen and Malcolm Coupe, whose Brambledale girls will be five years old tomorrow. Very lucky girls they are too, to have such devoted owners!

"Here is a little update of the girls and some photos. They are still as lively as ever and full of character albeit quite different in nature. Honey is very intelligent and we have to spell out words as she understands everything we say. Nell is clever in that she can turn a deaf ear when she feels like it. She is very laid back in comparison to Honey but full of character never the less. They fill our lives on a daily basis and couldn't imagine not having them. The photos were taken just the other day on our walk, they are not great but it's hard to get them to pose especially when there is a river in the back ground."

And here is one of their litter brothers, Finn, owned by Vicky Hassell....

Together with younger brother Rafe, who will be four in October....

Vicky writes:

"It’s hard to believe that it is Finn's 5th birthday - he certainly hasn’t lost any of his exuberance and still loves to play with Rafe. He is our cheerful companion in whatever we do, and shows remarkable patience waiting whilst I watch birds or other wildlife, resisting the temptation to chase them away! He’s so clever too. A few weeks ago I dropped one of my gloves without realising when we were walking in the woods. He noticed it, and without any prompting picked it up and raced up to me pushing it into my hands. ‘Seek back’ is a game he has enjoyed since he was a puppy, but it’s nice to know that as I become increasingly absent-minded he will be keeping a watchful eye! Life really would be very dull without him and Rafe, they are everything to us. They’re in for a real treat next month when James visits from Kenya having not seen them for 18 months. James is convinced that they won’t remember him, but there’s no chance of that, they get excited and look hopefully at the front door whenever they hear his name mentioned!"