Eamonn Holmes wanted pet dog to be stuffed, but wife Ruth Langsford 'wouldn’t have it'

The Belfast broadcaster (61) told the new BBC Sounds podcast Alright, Pet: “I always had in my mind that when she passes on, it would be a really good idea to have her stuffed — to have taxidermy involved — then it would be as if she’s always there.

“Ruth was apoplectic about this. I’m told that under no circumstances should this ever happen.”

With taxidermy ruled out by his wife, Eamonn stumbled upon an alternative when he met a woman who makes bronze sculptures of animals.

“Without Ruth’s permission, I got this bronze statue made of Maggie,” he said.

“The bronze sits there, Maggie can sit beside it and you couldn’t tell the difference.

“When she goes, I’ll always have this little statue — the same size as her — to look at and remind me of her.

“I’m very, very pleased with the result. My wife thinks I’m morbid and awful, but I think it’s fantastic.”

The husband and wife’s views on taxidermy were no secret before the podcast — they argued about the subject when presenting This Morning in April.

Maggie, who Eamonn picked up from the Dog’s Trust charity, is his first dog but has changed his life in a “massive” way.

“I never really thought about animals or had an affinity before Maggie came into my life,” he said.

“Now, if I watch a documentary about lions or sheep — it doesn’t really matter what it is — I look at their eyes and I see Maggie through their eyes.”

The Northern Irish presenter also told host Anne-Marie Wallace and vet Rob Adams that owning a dog had made him “so aware and so guilty about eating meat”.

“It’s just made me much more associated with the animal world, and I get appalled at how people treat animals and how cruel they are,” he said.

The presenter revealed he had sent for a DNA test for his beloved pet, who he described as looking like “black version of Basil Brush”.

“The DNA test said she was 65% border collie, mixed with some Welsh corgi and Yorkshire heeler. The other 30% was a sausage dog,” Eamonn said.

“She has a long body and short legs. [She] looks like a fox. The one thing that makes me sentimental is that we’ll never see another one like her [Dog’s Trust policy is to neuter dogs]. She’s absolutely beautiful.”

He also disclosed how former This Morning agony aunt Denise Robertson told him that he would never regret buying himself a dog.

“Denise — she’s sadly now passed away — she said to me, ‘Eamonn, you’ll never regret it. It’ll be good for your temperament and good for your blood pressure’,” he said.

“Absolutely, I’d go with all of those things. It gives you something else to focus on.

“I have never come home to my dog and not smiled. I’ve been full of tension and anger at certain things. I’ve been under pressure, stressed, and Maggie comes up to me… and you immediately smile.

“If my wife treated me the way my dog does, it would be amazing. It’s a beautiful, unconditional love.”