For millions of viewers, she was more than just a dog padding softly across the screen.
She was part of the rhythm of Gardeners’ World.
Part of the calm.
Part of the soul of Longmeadow.
This weekend, Monty Don shared news that left fans across the country deeply moved: his cherished dog Peggy has died — just weeks before her 16th birthday.
And in true Monty fashion, her farewell was as gentle as the life she lived.
A Loss Shared Quietly — And Felt Everywhere
Late on Saturday night (January 25), Monty took to Instagram with a single photograph of Peggy. No dramatics. No spectacle. Just honesty.
“Peggy died yesterday,” he wrote.
“She was an old lady – a few weeks short of her 16th birthday – and went as she had lived, gently and without fuss.”
In just a few lines, Monty captured a lifetime.
Peggy, he explained, was eccentric, quirky, endlessly gentle and loving — a dog who never demanded attention, but somehow always earned it. Her absence, he admitted, will be felt terribly.
A Burial Close To Home — Where Love Still Grows
What followed struck an even deeper chord.
Monty revealed that Peggy has already been laid to rest — not in silence, but in familiarity. She was buried at home, in the garden she knew so well, alongside the other dogs who shaped Monty’s life.
“She is now buried in the coppice alongside Nigel and Nell and the other dogs,” he shared.
For fans, it felt painfully symbolic: Peggy returning to the earth at Longmeadow, surrounded by the very place where she spent her happiest days — under open skies, among trees, seasons, and love.
‘The Loss Of Our Dogs Is Unbearable’
The response was immediate — and overwhelming.
Condolences poured in from fellow TV favourites and viewers alike. Lisa Snowdon sent love. Nicki Chapman offered her sympathy. And hundreds of followers shared messages that read less like comments and more like letters of understanding.
“The loss of our dogs is unbearable grief,” one wrote.
“So sorry for your loss of sweet little Peggy.”
Another imagined her at peace: chasing rabbits without pain, always warm, always dry, always with a lap to curl up on.
One comment perhaps captured it best:
“Any dog lucky enough to live out their days at Longmeadow has achieved serendipity.”
More Than Pets — Family
For those who have followed Monty Don over the years, this loss is not an isolated one.
He has always been open about how deeply his dogs are woven into his life. In 2020, fans mourned the death of Nigel — a dog so beloved he became a national icon in his own right. At the end of 2023, Monty lost Nellie, another heartbreaking goodbye.
Now, Peggy has joined them.
Still by Monty’s side are Ned, his golden retriever, and Patti, a Yorkshire terrier — both familiar faces to Gardeners’ World viewers, and quiet reminders that love, even in grief, continues.
A Farewell That Mirrors A Life
Peggy’s passing was not loud.
Not rushed.
Not chaotic.
It was calm. Familiar. Grounded.
Much like Monty Don himself.
In an age where loss is often announced with noise and spectacle, this goodbye felt different — deeply personal, achingly human, and profoundly symbolic.
A dog. A garden. A life well lived.
And at Longmeadow, beneath the soil she once walked upon, Peggy rests — gently, without fuss — exactly as she always was.