Inside Monty Don's pet heartbreak: How many dogs does gardening star have left?

Monty Don is celebrating his 70th birthday on July 8, and fans of the green-fingered host are sure to send the BBC star their well-wishes. The Gardeners' World presenter is undoubtedly spending part of his special day in his very own garden with his beloved dogs. But how many pooches does he have now, and how many has the horticulturist lost?

Monty wrote on his website: "I have lived with dogs all my life, and so it is absolutely natural to me that wherever I am in the garden, I should be accompanied by a dog or two. It is their garden as much as mine or any other members of the family.

"Something that I take for granted is that, by and large, they do absolutely no damage and respect the garden completely. They (rarely) dig holes or crash through the flower beds."

Monty currently owns two dogs, a Golden Retriever named Ned and a Yorkshire Terrier named Patti, who are often seen on camera with him on Gardeners' World.

However, he's had many other dogs during his lifetime, including Peggy, who was a cross between a pug and a Chinese crested, but she generally preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

She died in February 2024 after being diagnosed with cancer in June, but Monty said her end was "peaceful and dignified".

His beloved Golden Retriever called Nellie was also a huge part of his life, and her passing in 2023 from cancer was heartbreaking.

Paying tribute to the much-loved dog, Monty told his followers: "I was going to tell you about my new book which is published next week but that can wait because my lovely dear Nell died last night. She was diagnosed with cancer in June and every day this summer has been a gift but it is over now.

"We buried her in the garden next to Nigel wrapped in one of my jackets with flowers, balls and her favourite biscuits. Her end was peaceful and dignified and ended obvious suffering but it never gets any easier to bear. So life goes on, but for the moment we are very, very sad."

Her death came three years after Monty lost his other Golden Retriever, Nigel.

Nigel died from an illness in May 2020 when he was 12 years old. Announcing the sad news on Instagram at the time, Monty wrote: "I am very sorry to announce that Nigel has died. To the end he was happy, healthy and his usual calm, lovely self.

Before Nigel and the others, Monty was accompanied by a miniature dachshund at his Longmeadow property named Brenda.

When he took to social media on International Dog Day in 2023, he said Brenda was "much missed".

Gardeners' World currently airs on Friday evenings at 8pm on BBC Two.