"Oh my god! You got us a puppy"!
The journey here was noisy and smelly and I missed my brothers and sisters but in all of the excitement I'd quite forgotten! Four humans lived here for me to play with. There were two big ones and two little ones and they looked really friendly and made my tail go thump thump thump. Still the little ones were a bit clumsy and scary and the big people were huge which was even more scary. I peed a little by accident but then had the best time running about and sniffing the spiky tree and playing with all my new toys. I loved my new home!
"Merry Christmas Buddy"... The big female said as she stroked me so gently until I fell into a blissful sleep. I didn’t know what this “Christmas“ was but it sounded like heaven.
I started to feel more settled after a while with the humans, they were not that scary and usually left me alone when I needed space, although there were times when the smaller ones touched me in ways I didn't like. Their little hands were sticky and when they pulled my fur it hurt. I tried to tell them I was upset by avoiding eye contact and folding me ears down but they didn't always listen to me! The big female picked me up and soothed me for a while but soon after she left the room and forgot about me. I found a quiet corner of the house to rest.
As time went on my confidence grew I started to feel safe enough do the things I needed to. My teeth were aching and I needed to chew, I found the thing that the humans put on their feet with long strings (for extra fun)! It felt so good to have it in my mouth and to chew on it -and the smell was amazing!
After I finished I needed a rest so I had a nap and had dreams of running as fast as I could in the big field. After a while one of the big humans appeared and it made me happy to see them, so again my tail went thump thump thump, but he looked angry. He loomed over me and even shouted which made me so scared. I didn't know why he was angry with me so I licked my nose and held my body close to the floor to decrease my size hoping he understood I didn't want to fight.
Eventually after picking up the thing I had chewed he went away. This normally kind human was scary now so I decided I had to be careful around him in the future!
"He's destroyed my good shoes"
"He just needs some training"
"And who's going to pay for that"?
"Well how is he supposed to know what to do if you never teach him anything!"
"We shouldn't have got that bloody dog"...
For the most part I continued to enjoy the time with my humans. The little ones were noisy which I didn't like so I tried to avoid them. Sometimes they would be naughty and rude grabbing my tail and face in a rough manner so it hurt. They would also put their face close to mine and put their arms on me when I didn't want them to, I tried avoiding them. I tried everything to get them to stop, even barking at the big humans but they wouldn't listen to me. Eventually when my whiskers were pulled really hard I told them with my teeth. They ran away and finally left me alone in peace.
In the days after my stressful encounter with the grabby little one, I was taken on another noisy journey similar to the first one. I saw other humans and dogs and smelt a million different smells but this was very different. My cosy bed was now a hard floor. My house was now a small cage. All the dogs around me were shouting for help and I felt so sad and alone when my humans left.
This place is scary and I don't know what's going to happen. My humans never came back and I still don't know what I did wrong...
Feeling frightened I thought back to the nice female human soothing me for the first time. I still don’t know what Christmas is but whatever it was it only lasted for a little while and I’m still here.
They‘re calling me into another room now where the other dogs went and didn’t come back. I didn’t want to be just for Christmas. Puppies should be safe forever.
Goodnight my humans. I Love you still xxx
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