DOGGY DAY CARE

Jeremy Goldsmith, 55, from Stansted, and his furry friend are on a mission to save orphaned animals...

- KEZIA REYNODS & HATTIE BISHOP.

Pulling on my welly boots, I didn’t want to go out into the cold.

And I could tell Fred didn’t want to, either. Curled up by the Aga, he was nice and cosy.

Now my reliable golden Labrador was 15, he preferred to spend his mornings snuggled up in the warm.

My wife Johanna, 40, would be down soon to make breakfast for the kids – Henry, five, James, three, and little Isabella, four months – and I was sure Fred wanted to stick about, waiting for bits of toast.

‘Come on Fred,’ I called cheerfully.

He had accompanied me on my morning rounds every day for the past 15 years.

You see, I have lived and worked at Mountfitchet Castle for my whole life.

My parents Alan, 83, and Kathy, 78, had restored the ancient Norman castle in the ‘80s and were still working alongside me.

Mountfitchet Castle is the only wooden Motte and Bailey reconstruction on its original site anywhere in the world – and to maintain the historical accuracy, we farmed the same animals as the old Norman occupants would have.

Ducks, chickens, sheep, goats and deer all roamed the castle grounds freely.

Every morning at 8am, Fred and I would head out to do the feeds and check on the animals.

Heading out the frontNdoor, Fred plodded along dutifully behind me.

He had such a lovely temperament and was so gentle with the animals – they felt at complete ease with him.

Walking through the dewy grounds in June last year, it was a lovely morning.

We scattered feed for the animals, and Fred sneakily snaffled a few pellets when he thought I wasn’t looking.