Alison Curtis: ‘I’ve survived trauma in my life before, but this was all-consuming. I was heartbroken when Betty died’

When Betty, my Border Collie, died last year I completely crumbled; she was only three years old and it was such a shock. She was a rescue, and she was totally traumatised when my husband and I first brought her home; she’d had a terrible start in life but she became a well-behaved and incredibly loyal dog – she’d hardly leave my side.