Goodbye Hobbs

Merlin the dog doesn’t want to go for a walk. He sniffs Hobbs’ empty bed and plods outside, half wagging his sad tail. Merlin and his human go along the familiar route, Merlin looking for his best friend Hobbs. Then suddenly he sniffs, sniffs again. A scent! A message left by Hobbs! ‘Hello Merlin, I love this tree,’ says the message, and then it stops. But Merlin’s caught the scent of the next one, and off he scampers to another tree. ‘It was time for me to go away. I love you.’

As Merlin sniffs the smelly messages left by Hobbs, he travels all the way back home, to the cherry tree in the garden, where Hobbs tells him, ‘I’m with you even if you can’t see me. Keep bouncing, Merlin!’

A moving story about grief seen through the eyes of a dog. The illustrations characterise the dogs beautifully and bring a joyful energy to Merlin’s search. There is a comforting message that our loved ones, and loved pets, stay with us even if we can’t see them. This would be a particularly good book to read with a child who’d lost a pet. There is a Welsh language edition available too.