-24

i remember puppies.
we had just moved into a new pub, it would be the last pub we lived in. the white hart was a big traditional pub with three bars. the big long public bar, the small games bar and the plush saloon bar. for a young kid it was a wonderland to explore.
we had a dog, sally, who was due to give birth. i was excited, what kid wouldn’t be: puppies! each day i waited for them to arrive.
my dad had put sally in the saloon bar (it was her favourite bar – the customers had been doting on her). each night he would check on her, each night before i went to sleep he would let me know whether or not she was going to pop.
as with all these things sally did it in her own time and when there was no one around. dad was worse than me and he had been checking on her all the time. so now that she had pups he came and woke me up. it was like christmas. in my jim jams i rushed downstairs with a gleeful squeal that only excited young boys can make.
i ran into the saloon bar and ran towards the basket that sally had been resting in. i could hear her and her puppies. i was even more exited by that. that speeded up the patter of my little bare feet. as i ran across the carpet i discovered that sally and her puppies had left a few little presents and i managed to run into them. dog and puppy poo squidging through my toes.
it didn’t detract from the sheer pleasure of seeing a bundle of puppies and their proud mother.
that said i don’t recommend playing with dog shit.