my ex-husband Robin McKidd, a Scottish folk musician whose bands were The Balham Alligators, High Speed Grass and Companion of the Rosy Hours, came to live with me and my husband for his last years when he was suffering from emphysema and lung cancer. He brought Biffo with him, an Irish orphan whose mother died when he was born. His mother was a border collie and his father an old english sheepdog and they had been taken in as strays by a neighbour. Biffo used to lie under the seat on stage while Robin played the fiddle. When Robin died he said "look after my wee dog" although Biffo is far from wee! There is a Robin McKidd memory page in facebook. We love Biffo and although he is 15 now he has a strong heart. He has many symptoms of old age such as cataracts, arthritis and a cloudy eye but we pay ongoing vet bills for a daily painkiller etc. Recently we found that his back teeth needed removing and we tried to gather the money from friends and family (400 pounds needed) but we are all poor (nurses, teachers and I am an artist!) We don't have any money at all just an overdraught! We were hoping to scrape together donations for his teeth when the vet suspected he had a tumour in his bladder and ordered a scan. The good news was he doesn't have cancer - the bad news is he has a painful stone in his bladder which is hurting him and he was passing blood. The very bad news is this needs taking out and will cost up to £600, which needs to be arranged soon. At my wit's end I am doing this crowd funder which I hope will raise the money. Biffo is very sweet and I want him to recover and be free from pain. The vet didn't consider putting him down as he is still very much living his life. I have to put in some photos so here is one of my latest etchings!