A Puppy Called Hugo. Fiona Harrison

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СКАЧАТЬ eyes met Hugo’s and he stared at me apologetically.

      ‘Sorry, Dad,’ he yelped forlornly.

      As Gail and Jenny rushed to the scene, I let out a heavy sigh. Would my boy ever learn?

       *

      The midday sun beamed through the clouds, and I lay on my back, enjoying the warmth on my belly. There was nothing better than a trip to the park. But when the sun beat down like this it felt like a real treat and after the morning I’d had I felt I deserved it.

      I had always loved this particular park and the fact it was so huge only made it all the more exciting. Although it was just a few minutes away, it was so big it felt as though you were in the middle of nowhere. All you could see for miles was greenery and trees, perfect for jumping and playing in. Yet it was the dedicated dog park right at the heart of the park that was my favourite place in all the world. Not only was it filled with trees and grass, there was plenty of shade and a proper drinking trough for us dogs to use when we needed to cool off in the summer.

      I turned my head and felt a stab of delight as I saw Sal and Peg walk towards me, accompanied incredibly by Lily, Roscoe and Ralph.

      Unable to believe my luck at seeing all of my children at once, I nudged Hugo who was napping next to me.

      ‘Look, your mum and siblings are here,’ I barked.

      Excitedly, Hugo pushed past me and bounded towards his loved ones.

      I had to admire his energy and followed as quickly as I could. Within seconds, I had reached Peg, and greeted her with a lick and nibble to the ear while Hugo, Lily, Roscoe and Ralph rolled around on the floor, each displaying their own particular puppy brand of affection. I chuckled. They were all an identical mass of blond and black fur, making it hard to tell where one pug ended and another began.

      ‘Have you got a lick for your old dad then?’ I barked with affection.

      ‘Daddy!’ Lily barked, throwing herself onto me.

      ‘It’s so good to see you, Dad,’ Roscoe added, hurling his little body on top of Lily.

      ‘I’ve missed you,’ Ralph put in.

      ‘We’re all together, Daddy,’ Hugo added warmly.

      ‘Whatever are you all doing here?’ I barked, detangling myself from my offspring.

      ‘Sal offered to bring Hugo out for a walk,’ Peg explained casually. ‘You know what she’s like.’

      I knew just what Peg’s owner Sal was like: big hearted and generous to a fault. Glancing across at Gail and Sal already engrossed in conversation on a park bench, I barked at her welcomingly. As soon as I finished, Sal smiled and blew me a kiss before turning back to Gail who chuckled with merriment.

      Turning back to Peg, I saw our children had already disappeared, intent on a game of chase. I couldn’t help but watch with pride at the tremendous amount of energy they displayed. I wasn’t known for my athletic prowess so they could only have got it from their mother, I thought admiringly.

      A loud bark interrupted my reverie. Turning around, I saw my adorable friend Bugsy, bounding towards me while Heather and Jake brought up the rear. It was turning out to be a perfect day.

      As Bugsy got nearer, I tried to avoid the onslaught of his enthusiasm and dodge out of his way. Only, despite my best efforts, I was too late and he greeted me with all the excitement of a dog that hasn’t seen his owner after a week away and knocked me to the floor.

      ‘Percy,’ he yapped, licking me ferociously. ‘It’s so good to see you, so good.’

      ‘Thanks, but I only saw you the other day,’ I barked breathlessly in between licks.

      Bugsy paused and let me get to my paws. ‘But it feels like forever.’

      ‘Don’t mind him; he’s been in a funny mood all week,’ Heather yapped from behind us.

      ‘It’s true. Don’t know what’s up with the chap,’ added Jake, slightly out of breath.

      Bugsy looked at our friends balefully. ‘You know what’s wrong. Bella wants me to go to dog obedience school, but that just means she wants to send me to the tails of the forgotten doesn’t it, Percy?’

      I shook myself down, freshly mown grass flying everywhere, and fixed Bugsy with my sternest glare.

      ‘Just because your owner wants you to go to training classes, doesn’t mean she wants to send you to the tails of the forgotten. It just means she wants you to behave a bit better that’s all,’ I yapped, thinking back to my own pup destroying Gail’s home earlier.

      ‘But I’m not bad, Percy; you of all dogs should know that,’ Bugsy barked mournfully.

      ‘Nobody thinks you’re a bad dog, Bugsy,’ Jake barked knowledgeably, looking to Heather for support.

      She nodded her head in agreement with Jake. ‘Exactly, lovey, it just means she needs you to stop being quite so barky.’

      Bugsy looked indignant. ‘I’m not barky.’

      Jake, Heather and I exchanged knowing looks. Bugsy had always barked a lot, but lately he had become over-exuberant to say the least. The youngest in our little group aside from our pups, Bugsy still had a lot of growing up to do in my opinion, which was probably why Bella wanted to send him to doggy training school.

      ‘It won’t be as bad as you think,’ Heather put in.

      ‘That’s right,’ agreed Jake. ‘It can be rather fun, lots of jumping through things, crawling through tunnels, rolling around in mud and playing with balls.’

      Bugsy’s eyes lit up at the thought of rolling around in mud, one of his favourite ways to spend an afternoon. ‘That doesn’t sound so bad, though not the tunnels. I hate tunnels.’

      ‘What doesn’t sound so bad?’ Peg asked, joining us with our four pups in tow.

      ‘Doggy training school,’ Heather explained.

      Peg nodded knowingly. ‘After Hugo ran off by himself on a rescue mission yesterday it sounds like something he could use.’

      ‘I was just thinking the same thing myself,’ I barked thoughtfully.

      Lily, Hugo, Roscoe and Ralph eyed us in confusion.

      ‘But not us though?’ Lily yapped, almost daringly.

      ‘Yeah,’ Roscoe put in, glancing from me to her mother. ‘Not us? We’re good boys and girls.’

      As if to demonstrate, Roscoe stood to attention, eyes forward, paws tucked in neatly together, closely followed by Lily and Ralph. Hugo, sadly, didn’t get the hint and thought it was a game, preparing to leapfrog over his siblings.

      Peg opened her mouth and bit Hugo by the scruff of his neck in warning. ‘That is quite enough of that. You could hurt one of them. You just remember who’s in charge here.’

      ‘That’s СКАЧАТЬ