His wild-eyed enthusiasm and endless stream of chat was both impressive and exhausting. Watching him run around me in circles reminded me of some of the dogs I had met at the tails of the forgotten and I realised he was barely more than a pup.
‘I’m Percy,’ I replied slowly, trying to calm the youngster down. ‘I’ve just moved in with Simon and Gail in Barksdale Way.’
‘Cor! Barksdale Way’s a bit fancy. Full of families that think they’re no better than they should be – least that’s what my owners Johnny and Bella say – but I don’t know what that means. Do you want to come and meet my friends now?’ Bugs barked relentlessly.
I thought my head would explode with laugher. You could always rely on a young pup to tell you just how it is, I thought wryly.
‘I’d love to meet everyone,’ I woofed agreeably, following behind as he raced to the other end of the park.
‘This is Percy,’ he puffed, rounding up all his pals. ‘He’s just moved in with a new family in Barksdale Way.’
‘Very good, old boy. Welcome to the gang,’ woofed an elderly looking spaniel. With his greying whiskers, he reminded me a little bit of Kelly at the tails of the forgotten and was clearly a dog that had seen and done it all.
‘I’m Jake,’ he continued, ‘out and about most mornings, hips allowing.’ With that, he shifted his lower half from the wet, dank grass and wriggled his bottom to get more comfortable.
A sweet-looking German shepherd looked at Jake. ‘Are you all right, lovey? Your hips look like they’re playing up more than usual this morning.’
‘Oh, I’m fine,’ Jake barked in reply. ‘It’s this cold December weather. Christmas is no fun for old dogs like me.’
‘Don’t talk soft,’ the German shepherd replied gently, before turning to me. ‘And you’re Percy, I just heard Bugsy say. Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Percy. I’m Heather and you’re welcome to come and hang around with us of a morning any time you want to. Who are your owners?’
‘Gail and Simon,’ I barked again, gesturing towards Simon, who was busy chatting to a small blonde woman at the corner of a park.
The two looked as if they had known each other for years by the way they were gassing away. I was about to ask the others if they knew who she was when I became distracted by the lead the woman was holding. Straining impatiently at the leash, was the most beautiful pug I had ever seen. Blonde, with dark markings and trademark big brown eyes, her paws looked tantalisingly beautiful, and the set of her jaw left my own hanging open in longing.
‘That’s Peg, old boy,’ Jake barked quietly, as he sidled up to me. ‘She’s just a young thing, and spoiled, a bit like her owner, but she’s a good girl at heart.’
‘Jake, she’s a sweetheart,’ Heather protested, as she scratched her ear in frustration. ‘Don’t put Percy off before they’ve even met.’
‘Oh, Heather,’ Bugsy barked affectionately. ‘You always see the best in a dog, even me, and I’m always getting it wrong and I know you tell me it’s just my age, but it’s not always and anyway, I don’t think Percy’s about to be put off any time soon. His jaw’s on the floor and he’s dribbling. Is he sick, Heather?’
‘No, sweetie,’ Heather woofed affectionately. ‘He’s just got a bit of a crush, the poor thing.’
Bugsy grimaced. ‘Yuck! On Peg? But she’s a girl.’
I’d heard enough of this nonsense and turned back to face the others, who were all looking at me agog.
‘I don’t have a crush. I just think it’s nice to meet another pug, that’s all,’ I objected, hoping my traitorous, thumping heart wouldn’t give me away.
I turned back to look at Peg, only to find she was scampering towards us. I gulped noisily and felt my nose moisten with nerves as I turned to Heather. ‘How do I look?’
‘Like a prince, pet,’ she barked kindly.
‘Come and meet our new boy, Percy,’ Heather barked as Peg approached. ‘He lives around the corner in Barksdale Way.’
‘Ooh, that’s a bit posh,’ Peg panted, echoing Bugsy’s words as she scampered to join me. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Percy. Can I come around and see your place sometime?’
‘Steady on, old girl,’ Jake barked sagely. ‘Perce here has just arrived. It’s a bit soon to be inviting yourself over for a bowl of Pedigree Chum.’
‘Sorry, Percy,’ Peg woofed a little shamefaced. ‘Where are my manners? It’s just rare to meet another pug, especially not one that lives in such a nice part of town. I got carried away, that’s all.’
‘That’s okay,’ I replied, her beauty leaving me almost barkless. ‘I’d love to have you visit. I’ll see if I can encourage Simon to invite your owner over.’
‘Oh, our Sally doesn’t need much encouragement,’ Peg barked knowingly. ‘She’s a sucker for a pretty face that girl. I suppose that’s where I get it from.’
Heather turned to Peg. ‘How is your Sally now?’
Peg rolled her big brown eyes in despair. ‘She’s all right, Heather. But it doesn’t take much for Sally to start turning on the old waterworks. She’d only been on a couple of dates with this latest one but she’s been sobbing on my fur all week about how she thought he was the one, whatever that means.’
‘She’s been looking for love in all the wrong places again,’ Heather barked sympathetically.
‘You can bark that again,’ Peg replied. ‘Honestly, she’s getting on my nerves with all these tears. We always have such a nice time when it’s just the two of us, I can’t understand why she wants to ruin everything by chasing after every man in trousers.’
‘It’s not our job to understand, Peg,’ Jake barked wisely. ‘It is ours merely to be there for our owners whenever they need us.’
‘And I am, Jake,’ Peg insisted, her little tail, curling and uncurling in frustration. ‘But all these tears are making my fur soggy and cold.’
Jake patted her much younger paws with his old wizened ones. ‘I do understand, my dear, but such is our lot. Into this life a little rain must fall.’
‘Literally, when it comes to our Sal,’ Peg barked mutinously. ‘Anyway, what about everyone else? I can’t be the only one with owner problems.’
Being new to the group, I didn’t want to speak first, but the others wasted no time comparing war stories.
‘Well, I’m sure it’s no secret that mine are getting divorced,’ Heather barked matter-of-factly. ‘It’s been a long time coming. Pete’s been convinced for years she’s been cheating on him so he finally got fed up and hired a private detective to do some digging last month.’
I rolled my eyes in amazement. Was that really something humans did? I looked around the rest of the group, but they did not appear remotely surprised.
‘And he found some evidence that she’d been with someone else?’ Peg woofed compassionately.
‘No, she hadn’t been cheating at all,’ Heather barked with exasperation. ‘But when she met the private detective, she fell head over heels and has now moved in with him, so Pete really has got something to worry about and is either moping about the house or throwing plates in the garden. I have to be careful when I pop out for my evening tinkle.’ Heather shook her head in disgust. ‘What about the rest of you? I can’t be the only one suffering thanks to my daft owners.’
Bugsy cocked his head and let his tongue loll to one side, an unattractive pool of drool gathering at the corner of his mouth. ‘My owners have just had a baby,’ he barked. ‘Jasper’s really sweet and cute and I like to look at him when