Bouncer. Jean Ure

it was supper time before she arrived. We had had to put up with him for six whole hours!

      In those six hours that puppy had:

       chased the cats

       bitten Bella on the ear

       tried to bite me on the ear (I soon gave him what for!)

       ripped a cushion to pieces

       dug up a flower bed

       knocked over a table

       broken a glass.

      We were all heartily glad when his owner turned up. She was a very nice lady, but not really young enough, in my view, to cope with a fox terrier puppy.

      She explained how she had been staying with a friend and had taken Bouncer (that was the puppy’s name) for a walk across the Common. That wicked boy had run away from her! And she was such a nice lady.

      “Some dogs,” I said to Bella, “just don’t know when they are well off.”

      The lady put Bouncer into her car and they drove off together, down the lane. As they turned the corner, Bouncer jumped up at the back window and grinned at us.

      “Mark my words,” I said to Bella, “that dog is TROUBLE.”

      How right I was!

      It is a fact that all dogs, when they are little, need someone to teach them right from wrong. We all need a guiding hand. Some of us need firmer hands than others. And some of us – such as Bouncer – need very firm hands indeed.