Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s friend Flash didn’t have a dog bed as such. The canine who kept the Victorian poet company during her protracted illness simply had a cushion on the floor by her bed.

Flash was as devoted to his mistress as she was to him and she dedicated many of her poems to him.

When Elizabeth married fellow poet Robert Browning against her father’s wishes, she pulled back the dog bed cover from Flash’s cushion, picked up her little friend and took him on honeymoon.

More recently, dog lover Gina Hetherington took all six of her pet pooches on honeymoon in 2004.

An increasing number of hotels and guest houses are now accepting dogs as guests.

Some are even allowed to share the family bedroom.