Within the realm of this being a pretty awful thing to happen, for him and those who love him, it did teach me something valuable.

That others suffer too. Suffer worse. And that those of us who make it to the other side of the river must reach out a helping hand.

Voila! The Three Pines Foundation.

It's named after the village I write about. Three Pines, Quebec. A small place, not found on any map. But then, as Melville wrote, most true places are not.

Three Pines exists in our hearts. When we choose decency over cruelty. Kindness over cynicism. It is a place, in the words of the poet Auden, where goodness exists.

You have found Three Pines, and are now a villager. Thank you, and welcome!

The foundation has been created to help caregivers of those with dementia. If the caregiver, wife, husband, child, friend, goes down, everything falls apart. To that end, we will fund day centres, choirs, art classes. Community initiatives to make sure people are safe and happy.

But Three Pines Foundation goes beyond that. We will also support animal rights, and shelters. Spaying and neutering programmes. Adoption programmes.

We support literacy programmes.

Thank you for being a part of this. A huge thank you, for joining Michael, our goldens, other readers, me, in Three Pines. Where goodness exists.

Thank you, with all my heart, for your donations! I will report in twice a year, with a list of where the money has gone.

Louise Penny