Ruby’s story……….

I couldn’t go out for the first few weeks, something to do with injections and jabs… I don’t really know why, I just know that they kept taking me to see someone who stuck a needle in me. Anyway, because of this I couldn’t go out. But I didn’t mind, after all I’d never been out so I didn’t know what I was missing. Anyway there was so much to explore and so much fun to be had inside. I couldn’t wait to get up in a morning as soon as the first light came through the window and I heard the first tweet of a bird I was up, and I needed everyone to be up with me, so I shouted and I shouted until mummy came down to me.

Everything was an adventure, everyday I found something new to play with or chew. Chewing very quickly became by favourite pastime, chair legs, table legs, skirting boards, coffee tables and even an old wooden trunk. But to be honest the trunk looked like it had seen better days, so a few of my teeth marks didn’t make much difference. Anything wooden, anything I could sharpen my puppy teeth on was fair game to me.

I used to spend my days running from room to room finding something to play with or chew. My mummy must have enjoyed it too, because she used to join in. She wasn’t quite as quick as me, so I always got to whatever it was that I was after first. But then we enjoyed another game, one that I particularly enjoyed, and that was me grabbing something, and then mummy chasing after me, that was fun.

Do you remember I told you about when my new mummy and daddy picked me up, and they brought along a rope mouse lady ? Well she was my favourite toy for while, but as I predicted on that first day she didn’t last very long. On the second day of playing with her I chewed both her legs off and on the third I started to unpick her belly and pull her stuffing out. Funny though after that I never saw her again, to this day I don’t know where she went to, its a mystery……., but then again a few of my toys have vanished over night, never to be seen again, its always when I start to pull their stuffing out.

One particular day, I found a rather good shoe to chew on. Mummy must have liked it too, because she tried to get hold it, But I was having none of that…., oh no this was mine….., if she wanted a shoe she should get her own. So off I went as fast as my legs could carry me into the other room. She must really have wanted this shoe, because she was hot on my heels, only this time, when she chased me into the other room she shut the door behind us……., oh mummy this isn’t going to be as much fun……, its better when we can run all over the house. This was a different game, this time I couldn’t get past her and she blocked me. She then grabbed hold of my shoe….., not fair mummy these aren’t the rules. So as she pulled it out of my mouth I jumped as high as my little legs would launch me. But I couldn’t grab it back. What I did do though, on the way down, was catch my little puppy claws on mummy’s leg, and I tore a big rip in the jeans that she was wearing. I don’t suppose it matters much though, those jeans had definitely seen better days, they looked like they were even older than mummy, all faded and scruffy, I think that I actually did her a favour. I heard her telling daddy later, that she’d had them since she was 18. Well its about time she bought some new ones.

I has so much fun in those weeks when I couldn’t go out. Then the day dawned, the door was opened and I was out in the big wide world for the first time. This was going to be fun………………………

Mummy’s story………..

Well after the initial excitement of having our new puppy at home, reality quickly started to take over. Gone were the lie-in’s, in fact gone where the getting up early’s, getting up now was the crack of sparrow…. As soon as first light came, so the puppy stirred, and that was that, one up, all up, and once up that’s when the chaos began.

Our days now were spent chasing her round the house trying to get back everything that she picked up. I seriously think that she saw it as some sort of game….., me on the other hand saw it as trying to retrieve our most precious belongings from this crazy chewing machine.

Nothing was safe, the lovely farmhouse kitchen table that we’d only bought 18 months early, now had chewed legs, but as if to compensate she also chewed the chair legs…., oh well, I suppose it was now a matching set.

The coffee table was chewed, the skirting board was chewed, but most upsetting of all, an antique chest that we’d inherited, and had been in my other half’s family for years, also fell victim to the chewing. This puppy has no respect for anything.

Do you remember that I told you that on the day that we collected her, we took a cute little rope mouse lady. This little cannibal chewed her legs off on the second day of having her and, on the third day for the sake of the puppy and rope mouse lady, she was removed after having all her insides pulled out. In fact over the coming months most of the toys we bought for her were removed in this way, as soon as the stuffing started coming out they were gone.

There was one particular, day which had been spent, chasing her round the house, grabbing things out of her reach and moving everything from ground level. That I caught her with one of my new work shoes in her mouth……, oh no….., no you don’t madam, we are not playing that game, I’m not chasing you round the house for this one…, you my girl are going to get cornered…., you are not chewing that shoe, give it to me, give it to me now……… Oh no, what was that, I just felt a sharp pain to my leg and heard something that sounded suspiciously like ripping denim. I looked down and horror of horror’s my vintage Levi 501’s that I had had since I was 18 now had a big split down the front. I’d had those jeans for nearly 30 years, I loved them and cherished them and they loved me, they were my go to jeans, the jeans I turned to when I needed to be comfortable and happy and loved (if jeans can love you). That was that, one leap by a small puppy was a huge devastation for womankind…. they were ruined and I was heartbroken.

Then everything changed. The time had come that she could go out of the house, the door to the outside was now open. Things were going to get easier from now on, or so we thought…………..