Ben Fogle - Labrador - The Story of the World’s Favourite Dog

A social history of Labradors, and how they have become the world’s most beloved dogs, by writer, presenter and long-time dog lover Ben Fogle, whose beloved black Labrador, Inca, famously accompanied him on numerous journeys and adventures.

To all the Labradors who have loved

and been loved.

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com

This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2015

Text © Ben Fogle, 2015

Excerpt from The Shipping News by Annie Proulx © Dead Line Ltd, 1993 Excerpt from Marley & Me © John Grogan, 2005

Photographs © Individual copyright holders

Cover credit © Shutterstock

Ben Fogle asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Source ISBN: 9780007549016

Ebook Edition © October 2015 ISBN: 9780007549030

Version: 2016-03-09

CONTENTS

COVER

ABOUT THE BOOK

TITLE PAGE

DEDICATION

COPYRIGHT

Prologue: THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Chapter One: SALTY SEA DOGS

Chapter Two: FISHY TAILS

Chapter Three: BANCHORY BOLO AND BEN

Chapter Four: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

Chapter Five: BLUE-BLOODED HOUND

Chapter Six: ROCK AND ROLLOVER

Chapter Seven: THE NOSE KNOWS

Chapter Eight: YELLOW COATS

Chapter Nine: ALL THE PRESIDENTS’ DOGS

Chapter Ten: LAB OF ALL TRADES

Chapter Eleven: LABS OF WAR

Chapter Twelve: THE END OF THE INCAS

Chapter Thirteen: A PERFECT STORM

PICTURE SECTION

FOOTNOTES

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Labrador– noun \ \ any of a breed of medium-sized strongly built retrievers largely developed in England from stock originating in Newfoundland and having a short, dense, black, yellow or chocolate coat and a thick rounded tail – called also Lab.

‘Don’t cry because it ended,

smile because it happened.’

Dr Seuss

I called Dad.

‘What do you think?’ he asked.

There was a pause. Not because I was thinking, but because I knew. I knew the answer but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

‘Then we know the answer,’ he replied.

I burst into uncontrollable tears.

The twenty-four hours following that phone call were some of the most painful of my life.

The knowing. The feeling of betrayal.

Inca, my beloved Inca.

We took Maggi and Inca to the beach one final time. I carried Inca from the car to the shore so she could lie with her paws in the water. Here we were on a beach again, just as we had been on Taransay when her life was just beginning.

I watched as her ears flapped in the wind and she lifted her nose to smell the sea air. Then, her belly covered in sand and seawater, I carried her back to the car and we began that torturous journey back to London. I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. In the rear-view mirror I could see Inca’s snout on Maggi’s back.

Dad was waiting when we arrived home. I lay on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably into Inca’s fur.

‘One more night.’

I carried her up to our bedroom, put her bed next to mine and lay there listening to her deep snoring. I didn’t sleep. I felt sick with panic and in the morning my pillow was stained with tears.

At 6am I carried her downstairs and fed her, then picked her up and took her into the garden.

‘Give Inca a big hug,’ I said to Ludo, who threw his arms around her.

‘Where’s she going, Daddy?’

‘Up into the sky,’ I said, turning away to hide the tears falling down my cheeks.

I carried Inca to the car, taking Maggi with us, too, and drove 10 minutes up the road to my parents’ house. I don’t remember much about that journey except that I cried uncontrollably all the way.

‘Thank you, Inca,’ I sobbed as we drove through the empty streets of Notting Hill. ‘Thank you for being my best friend. I owe everything to you.’

I carried her from the car into the house, burying my face into her fur, and laid her on the kitchen floor. Mum, Dad and my sister were all there.

Canine blood flows through the Fogle blood. Dogs are family.

I lay on the floor, hugging Inca while Dad injected her. Her breathing became heavy. I could feel her heart pounding and the warm blood beneath her skin. I breathed the familiar scent of her fur as I nuzzled into her thick coat. I have never sobbed like that in my life. It was a primal, uncontrollable, guttural sob as I felt her heart stop beating.

I lay there on the kitchen floor clutching my best friend, unable to move. Wishing, hoping it was a dream, I held her lifeless body.

Maggi came and sniffed Inca. I wanted her to sense that her friend had gone.

‘Where’s Inca?’ asked Ludo, as I returned home with Maggi.

‘She’s gone up into the sky.’

‘Hello, Inca,’ he said, waving to the sky.

I had lost my best friend. It felt like losing a limb. My shadow was gone. A flame had been extinguished.

I had loved and been loved. Now I had lost and I was lost. I needed to find a way back. Thirteen years is a long time.

It’s been quite a trip, Inca and me.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.