The end of May sees the conclusion of National Share-A-Story Month.

As dog owners and lovers our lives are rich with stories. Ones we so eagerly share when any opportunity arises. We also find ourselves ready and willing to hear tales of others 4-legged friends & the joy (and often mischief) bought to their people’s lives.

Our own ‘puppy tails’ are quite the compilation. With love, laughter and tears. Quite literally, something for everyone.

Dukes Puppy ‘Tails’

Duke was chosen by Mack as a puppy from his breeder. The bull mastiff x greyhound was clearly the troublemaker of the pack. Causing havoc when any prospective paw-rents came to view. On arriving, Mack spotted the little black bundle of mischief grab the garden hose and sprint behind a stack of fence panels. Very pleased with his latest acquisition he did not wish to give it up without a fight. Much to the breeder’s annoyance, as it was the 3rd time that day, he had spotted the little thief in the act.

Gleefully Mack proclaimed, “That's the one!!", to be met with the response, "Are you sure?!" from Dukes breeder. “He is like this all the time, he's a real handful!"

"Oh, I'm sure" and he couldn't have made a better choice, or a better friend in that moment. Although, it did provide us with much entertainment and story fodder for the following 13 years. Honestly, you just couldn’t have imagined this boy up! He was just too good to be true.

Listers Puppy ‘Tails’

Mister Lister, or Listy for short didn't come into my (Suzi's) life until he was 5 months old. He sadly had a rough start. Being bought from a less than reputable breeder as a repayment of a debt, to an elderly man by his stepchildren.

This older gentleman had never owned a dog before and was in no position to care for one now. In fact, he needed a little help himself. This unfortunately led to the puppy (at this point called Buster), living in squalid conditions. Never going outside to relieve himself, and as a result his skin became badly infected and very painful.

Thankfully, the gentleman eventually received the help he needed and one of the carers who visited him agreed to take the puppy and find him a more suitable home. She traced the breeders to see if they would like to take him back. But this was not received at all well. On seeing the conditions, the carer would not have allowed him to stay if they had agreed.

The kind lady carer had a twin sister who kept horses on the yard I ran at the time. She temporarily took the puppy in to live with her own dogs and bought him to the yard daily. At this point he was known as Thor and was terrified of everything. Except flies, he would chase them all day!

I instantly fell in love with the now 5-month-old scared little boy. As he would be able to spend his days around the stable yard and enjoy life in a way he never dreamed possible, the kind lady allowed me to officially call him my boy.

A ‘Tail’ of Two Boys

These boys stayed by our sides through some of the most difficult times of our lives. And each knew how important they were to us.

As in many great love stories, Hollywood or otherwise, myself and Mack met many years ago and briefly were friends. Then, we went off in separate directions, each with a best friend by our side. They carried us through and eventually saw us find each other again.

By this point each was fiercely protective of their relationship with us individually. Not aggressively, but emotionally. Duke, the dominant alpha, accepted me into the fold. Listy the beta male character adored Mack, in fact he showed a clear relief when he walked into his life.

We intended to integrate them if both boys happily accepted the process. We began slowly, allowing them to meet on neutral ground and in a safe way. All began well, but various health complaints slowed the process until it became clear both boys, advanced in age as they were by now would gain nothing from merging their lives. So, we agreed that our boys came first, and we would continue to live separately and enjoy their company as best suits them.

Dukey Trots Over Rainbow Bridge

At the magnificent age of 13 and a half we had to say "see you soon" to our beautiful big-hearted boy as he trotted over to the other side, heart full of love and head full of memories.

This left Mack understandably and totally lost. His best friend for well over a decade, who saw him through life threatening illnesses and emotional trauma beyond explanation on these pages. To be in the house without him was indescribably painful. We spent nearly 2 days trying to come to terms with the loss, when I realised what needed to be done. Enter Listy. I wish I could explain how much those 2 boys needed each other in that moment. To be stood beside them was to be struck by lightning. And in that unbreakable bond was forged.

The Texas ‘Tail’

A few weeks of conversation passed. I was very aware of Listy's advanced years. He was 11 and a half at this point. And despite his eternal puppy attitude, his body was less enthusiastic. I felt strongly that neither of us would be likely to recover from the future loss of him also, without another 4-legged friend in the house.

It was a very tough decision with much to-ing and fro-ing over whether it be the right thing for him at this point. Knowing him as well as we did, we concluded it would likely give him a little new interest and spark as long as we chose wisely.

Especially considering Listys early life, rescue is something we both believe in strongly. But it was not the wise choice given his well-being was our main concern. So, we opted for a female puppy. An 8-week-old so we could train them to be mindful of his needs and so he could assert his dominant position before they grew too big and boisterous.

We wanted the breed characteristics to be just right to fit in with our special boy’s life and discovered a breeder not far from us, offering pups from a gentle natured Saint Bernard mum and kind and cuddly Shepherd dad. Sweet natured and trainable were exactly what we needed. We went 'just to look' and the then 4-week-old Texas wriggled her chubby little chops over to us and told us we would be coming back to take her home in a month.

Lister's Rainbow

After a year of memory making with Listy and his little sister Tess (Texas apparently is just too much to say unless she is in trouble), we had to wave him over to meet his brother on the other side.

Utterly broken, we were so very grateful to have the walking heart with 4 paws to greet us when we returned home. How we would have gotten through that time without her I have no idea.

Kiaya, The Unexpected Tail

Eight months on from the loss of Listy, honestly still bereft from the loss of both boys, Tess had something she wanted to say.

She suffered greatly in her big brother not coming home that day. She struggled to eat for weeks, lost interest in toys and really just wanted cuddles.

Time passed and she came back out of her shell. Hormones came in waves, training focuses changed, but one thing became crystal clear. She really missed having a companion.

We made friends with a few local dogs, and she adored her play times with them. But we could tell it was just not enough. So again, after careful consideration and long discussions into the night we went to a breeder, "just to look"

We would really have liked to have rescued this time, but with a 6-year-old son also at home, and Tess being such a softy we thought this was the sensible route for this occasion. Believe me, we have BIG rescue plans in the future!

This breeder was much more of a drive away and following the Covid regulations and them having a young child with health issues it was a view and collect at the same time situation.

On arrival it became clear much of the information we had been given was not true. The puppy was not ill, but certainly was not what we expected to be going to see. She had not been living with mum in a part of the house. Virtually house trained, going out into the garden with mum was something of a fantasy. And the photographs of the much-loved family pets, on the living room sofa and around the baby’s toys had clearly been staged.

In short, though it is a moral dilemma, not wishing to fund what clearly seems to be a sub parr breeding situation, we could not in good conscience leave her behind. So, meet Kaiya!

Our instincts were correct. After a long, cold drive home with windows open thanks to the overpowering smell that came with her and a gentle bath she did have sore and irritated skin. Listy prepared us for this as he had a whole host of issues from his early life. We did what we know but there was more to the story so off to the vets we went. Our tip top vet spotted it was early stage sarcoptic mange. So, commence treatment for her and Tess, frantic and frequent cleaning of the house and all we can do to ease her suffering while the initial treatment takes effect. This includes regular thin layers of soothing cream being applied, salmon oil added to her feed and very small doses of dog CBD oil to ease the frantic scratching and nibbling, causing further damage and inviting the mites to burrow deeper.

And this is where we are. Our puppy "tails" so far.

We would love you to share yours. Past, present and future, because we know first-hand, how important these stories are in our lives.

Send us a message below to get your stories featured, or tag us on your socials @myhoomanlovesme using the hashtag #puppytails

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