Sally and Coco are two alpha female dogs who live in Leith. This comic strip is by Sally’s owner, the very talented Kate Charlesworth.

Kate and I have neighbouring allotments locally. The an unwritten rule of allotments is that whatever you do, just garden. In other words, less words are sometimes better. Blethering is all well and good, but most allotmenteers have a list of jobs to get through, so we get on with our gardening, with only smatterings of chat. It really is rather peaceful.

I only became aware of Kate’s work lately - she’s a cartoonist and illustrator, her award-winning graphic novel Sensible Footwear (A Girl’s Guide) appeared in 2019 from Myriad Editions. She’s even got her own Wikipedia entry. That’s the thing about Leith, sometimes you’ll see a rock star walk past - the amount of talent that resides in Edinburgh’s port is frankly amazing. Likewise, Kate (and Dianne’s) grey doggo Sally is a bit of a local legend. She’s a silvery beast with a bright red collar – you’ll see her leading the ‘big dog’ pack with Euan the dog walker. My dog Coco (the fitness pug) is much smaller than Sally, but also thinks she’s the boss.

At the allotment Coco tries to scrounge treats from everyone, and Sally lets her know not to push her luck. So, in real life Sally and Coco get on by ignoring each other, but one thing they really do have in common is that they love the street food of Leith Walk. There are lots of fancy eateries opening everywhere, however Coco is a bit of a traditionalist, she likes kerb kebab from Best Kebab (it lives up to its name, the original and best, no imitations please) or a dropped macaroni pie from outside Storries Bakery.

Yes, there was a DJ in there (Josh Baker) doing a techno set on that wintry Friday night.... In the bakery… With a counterful of cakes…

Sally and Coco are both (what the vet describes as) scavengers. So, although they are highly regarded dogs, they both love hoovering up Leith Walk. And I love the comic strip Kate has dreamed up from our exchanged emails over Christmas about our dogs. Thank you Kate, and here’s hoping for a good growing season this year.

Check out Kate’s work at the dog-friendly Argonaut Bookshop on Leith Walk. She is currently working on her next full-length comic. ■

Bluesky: @tracygriffen