Bella Mackie says she'd 'never love a child as much as her dog' and laments her and husband Greg James adopting late pup Barney 'in place of having kids'

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Bella Mackie has shed light on how she and husband Greg James adopted their late dog Barney in place of having children.

The author wrote an emotional article for Vogue, entitled “My Perfect Dog Died. What The Hell Do I Do Now?” in which she detailed how they thought they had 'cracked it' by choosing a dog over children.

The couple's beloved pooch, who they adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2019, passed away earlier this month and they have been sharing details of their grief online while Greg was also forced to take time off work.

She wrote: 'A good lesson in life – and one I only learnt this week – is not to get a dog in place of a kid... I love the dog so much I’ll never be able to love a kid more.'

The heartbroken author revealed it was 'love at first sight' when Greg saw Barney and after adopting and training him, he later suffered increasingly ill health, a number of operations and finally the decision that he could no longer suffer.

Bella Mackie has shed light on how she and husband Greg James adopted their late dog Barney in place of having children (pictured with Barney in 2022)

Bella then quoted Philip Larkin's 1956 poem An Arundel Tomb, writing: 'What will survive of us is love. I don’t imagine Philip Larkin would be thrilled that I’m applying his genius to a slightly overweight Labrador called Barney, but here we are...

'His love was wonderful, wonderful enough that one day we’ll get another dog from Battersea (I miss those smug points) and upend our entire lives in service of them. Until then, I don’t know what the hell to do.'

Earlier this month, the couple blasted a 'deranged' critic.

After Greg revealed the 'horrible news' that Barney had died and said he 'can't stop crying' while Bella shared a sobbing video later.

His death comes in the midst of Bella's promo of her new book Claws Out! and she took to Instagram to caveat that despite the fact she is grieving she would be sharing promotional content about the book, which is due for release on August 27.

She took to Instagram to excitedly share the first review of Claws Out! as she posted a selfie while holding the book alongside the caption: 'First review is in! It’s some very welcome good news at a very sad time...'

When a follower wrote: 'Too soon before your pup died!!' Bella simply replied: 'F**k you,' while Greg went for a more impassioned: 'our grief and how we deal with it is absolutely nothing to do with you. Or more simply put, what Bella just said.'

The rest of the post comprised images of Bella's head placed over various iconic writers' bodies including Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh.

A picture of a shirtless Greg concluded the post, as they revealed he was behind the post, which was reflecting the review's words, reading: 'Mackie’s previous book, What A Way To Go, was guided by Jilly Cooper (in a bad mood) and Agatha Christie...

'Here, Christie’s influence is discernible again — it’s ingeniously plotted — but she’s been joined by Dickens and perhaps Waugh...

'The tone is deliciously spiky, whether Mackie is reporting on the feud, nailing cameo characters or satirising social trends. It’s not only Diana and Cat who have got their claws out.'

Harking back to her hurtful commenter, Bella shared the exchange on Instagram stories with the caption: 'Gave me an odd moment of dark comedy actually so thanks for your deranged message I guess?'