We’re sorry to report that YoYo, the master’s dog and a resident of the college for more than a decade, died in June — a couple of months short of her 12th birthday.

YoYo was famous as Selwyn’s college cat, a title which she owes to former council secretary Dr Rupert Thompson. He noted ahead of her arrival that cats rather than dogs were the normal adornment to a master’s lodge, so he recorded in the minutes that council had given the master permission to keep “a very large cat”. The story was subsequently picked up by The Times, the BBC, Sky News — and international news outlets from Globo in Brazil to the Xinhua news agency in China.

Since her arrival in January 2014, YoYo became a firm favourite with generations of students. She managed to get into the room and beg for treats at 80 freshers’ suppers; she took part in JCR welfare walks to Grantchester; and she was a fixture at alumni events and Easter egg hunts, as well as showing her sociability by sitting on a wide range of distinguished visitors. 

We therefore ask for no condolences but rather a celebration of a magnificent basset hound who, as these photographs show, brought pleasure to so many people.