Pip, the dobermann puppy’s story as told to Alexandra Bastedo
I don’t think I am very popular at the moment. One of the problems is my sense of taste – I have yet to find something that I don’t like to eat particularly if it is wrapped in paper so I can eat that too. Of course there are side effects as I have been known to throw up often unrecognisable objects in the morning. It does mean that my mistress frequently puts me in a muzzle but fortunately I can’t have it on all the time so I still have ample opportunity to steal and usually I am so quick it takes time for things to be mislaid.
Today forinstance Nellie the adult dobermann and I were taken for a very long walk up in the hills above Pulborough and then upon our return we were both given a huge bone. My mistress thought it would keep me occupied while she called in the sanctuary cats for the night away from the four marauding resident foxes. However I soon got bored with my bone, then Nellie comandeered it and snarled whenever I tried to get it back so I went into the kitchen to see what I could lay my jaws on there. Success! I managed to knock the kitchen compost container off the sideboard on to the floor and quickly swallowed the old teabags, dead lettuce and banana skins which spilled out. Then I went a bit higher and ate a fresh loaf of bread from the bread basket still in its paper cover. After that I managed to open up the lid of the bread bin – which had been blocked by the compost container- and scoffed the biscuits, crackers and ryvitas inside. Then I moved further along and managed to dislodge a glass jar of Udo’s Oil – omega 3 and 6 – which is added to my food. I managed to carry it in my mouth into the garden where the glass broke and I succeeded in lapping up most of the oil from in between the shattered shards.
Needless to say my mistress was pretty angry when she came in. She locked me in my cage while she picked up all the broken glass and cruelly deprived me of my usual dinner saying “You have had quite enough!”
Nellie, my dobermann pal, has been quite wonderful in teaching me everything naughty she knows. However at the age of 8 months I have taken things to a higher level and am now teaching HER all of my particular peccadillos which is great as she now gets told off too!
Of course apart from eating my other main joy is chasing things and I am getting that down to a fine art as often Nellie now joins in too in formation. There is always a lot of activity from the birds on the pond but so far we haven’t managed to catch any ducks or moorhens. However I have discovered a new talent and that is fishing. I managed to grab hold of a sluggish prize koi carp that was basking in the shallows, ate most of it and deposited the head and spine in the hall as a present for my owners. But such generosity was only met with a scream when they came in and I was frogmarched back to my cage once again. However the sensation of that slimy wriggling fish in my mouth was exhilarating and it tasted scrumptious. There are plenty more where that one came from and if I manage to eat the whole fish then nobody will notice it is missing so now – when there’s no-one about – I go fishing!
By Alexandra Bastedo.
copyright Alexandra Bastedo
Alexandra is the author of “Beware Dobermanns, Donkeys and Ducks” and the veterinary recommended “Healthy Dog” and “Healthy Cat ” books. She is also the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary which is home to 150 abandoned animals and birds. Please help to support our work with a donation- no matter how small-or an animal adoption on our website www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk Our address is: PO Box 219, West Chiltington, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2XB.
