“I can’t believe I have a puppy”

That was what Mum had written in her Facebook post eight years ago on 31st May.

Yup! There I was – at 13 weeks – and after two weeks of puppy training.

I was sent away to “finishing school” as Mum called it. She didn’t know how to train a pup as she never had one before. And to ensure we would get off to a good start, she made sure I was house trained before we lived together.

At the end of the two weeks, the trainer had arranged for me to have a bath as I was a bit smelly. We met at Purple Bone in Notting Hill after my wash. Together we walked over to Kensington Gardens so Mum could learn how to hold my leash.

Yup! You read that right. Mum didn’t know how to hold a dog’s leash. LOL!

Once in the park, I demonstrated how I knew my name and practised recall.

I was quite good as long as the trainer was there because after that whenever Mum and I went to the park, I had selective recall – for a long time. LOL! Mum used to have to run around fences to try to get to me when I run through them chasing squirrels. And even though I would return when she called, I would run right past her and chased more squirrels.

Little me – about to start my life in this great big world.

After a short walk, stopped by a lot of people along the way, we arrived home. Mum showed me the ball she had bought me.

So, what do we do now?

Mum took me to meet Little Tyke. He was only 9 months old and the both of us were mostly on all fours. He could stand up but not walking yet.

He came back to our flat …

Hey! That’s my ball.

I was knackered by the day’s events and decided to let Little Tyke have my green ball.

Oh no. He’s back. He didn’t want the ball!

And so our friendship began.

Mum thought we looked alike.

And for the next month, we spent almost each day together.

Going out and doing things together.

But he was always curious about me.

We were inseparable – until we said goodbye a few weeks later.

May’s comment: This was my Facebook post! LOL!

Really wasn’t good at taking photos. All out of focus or bad lighting. But the ball is in focus – LOL!

This was our summer 2011. She wasn’t just a cute puppy – she started to consume a large part of my life. Together with Sasha, they gave me an opportunity to love like I never did before.