I bought Jimi a puppy for his 25th birthday present. Jimi was delighted and Ethel Floon became a member of the family. He called her ‘Queen of Ears’. Everyone loved Ethel, despite the fact that she was quite incapable of actually hitting any newspaper we laid out for her to relieve herself on and always managed to find a gap with a bit of floor showing.
No one had told me quite how stupid bassets were or how impossible to train and she used to tear around the flat with her ears flying out behind her. Sometimes she tripped up on her ears and fell over. I would walk her in Hyde Park for exercise and a number of friends used to help out by taking her down to the country for days out. Back at the flat she had a swivel chair, like the one they used on Mastermind, and she loved the sensation of being spun around while she flopped back and relaxed. Once Jimi overdid it so much she staggered off dizzily and threw up on the carpet.
Eventually she grew so big that I realized she was more than we could cope with. A friend, I think it was Jeff Beck, offered to take her to live with him in the country. We took him up on it, knowing she would be going to a good home. Buying a puppy was a silly thing to do really, and she was too much responsibility for us at that time.
Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of dear old Ethel but I have found a picture of a puppy which looks very much like her.
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