Gran drowned in river as she tried to rescue beloved poodle
“She had always loved dogs. We have had loads over the years – an alsatian, a poodle and four yorkies at one point.
“But Jasper stole her heart. He belonged to our daughter but she is a busy teacher and, with two children and three dogs, she had a lot on so we took him.
“Millie fell in love with him and would have done anything for him. He misses her so much now she’s gone, as we all do, but he reminds me of her every day.”
Millie had taken Jasper out for his daily walk near Bromham Mill, Beds, on January 15, when Bev received a phone call from two women who had found Jasper “dripping wet” at the side of the river. The family rushed Millie Smith, 80, with husband Bev who had been married for 61 years to the scene and, with Millie nowhere to be seen, they called the police who later broke the devastating news to them that Millie’s body had been found downstream. Despite attempts to revive her she pronounced dead at the scene.
In a statement read out at Bedfordshire coroners court in Ampthill last week, her family said was they believed her dog had fallen in the river and Millie, who could not swim, went in to try and save the animal.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Bev. “It is hard to imagine I will never see her again when she was so full of life.
“She loved to walk, was very active and we loved our holidays together, especially in the caravan, which I have now sold as I couldn’t bear to go alone.
“We were also avid CB Radio enthusiasts. I played Robin Hood to her Maid Marion.
“She was a wonderful lady and I miss her so much. I’m just proud to have such a wonderful family which I have her to thank for. We will never forget her.”
Bev, a former factory worker, met Millie in the early 1950s at a dance which he went to with a friend.
They married in 1955 and went on to have five children: Hilary, Lenton, Stephen, Shelley and Neil, as well as seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Paying tribute to Millie, her daughter Hilary, known as Billie, said: “She was a real diamond.
“She was a family-focused lady and worked well into her 70s as she loved her job as a carer. She was so caring.”
Ian Pears, the coroner for central Bedfordshire, recorded a verdict of accidental death.