LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘Hello, young man.’ She grinned before turning to look back up to Kelly. ‘I think I’m in love. Can I go and see him, please?’

      Kelly laughed, fishing into her pocket for one of the treats she knew I loved. ‘Of course. This is Percy,’ Kelly explained to the woman as I snaffled the treat from her warm palm. ‘He’s very special to me – handsome, gorgeous and bursting with love, he’s my idea of a perfect man.’

      After picking me up, Kelly gave me a comforting squeeze and invited the woman to sit on the old easy chair in the corner. When she was settled, Kelly placed me gently on the woman’s lap and tickled me under my chin.

      ‘This is Gail,’ Kelly explained to me. ‘We’ve just been talking nineteen to the dozen about you, because like me, Perce, she’s a woman with excellent taste who loves pugs.’

      I barked appreciatively. This was the most promising news I had received since I had arrived. Shuffling around in Gail’s lap, so I could get a proper look at her, I drank in her appearance. She appeared to be in her late thirties, her skin was creamy white, and the few freckles on her nose gave her a cute, vulnerable appearance. But the soft lines around her twinkling blue eyes and the grey circles that were forming underneath told me life had not always been kind and that perhaps, like me, she was tired of battling to find her place in the world. I liked her immediately and, as Gail looked back at me, her blue eyes teeming with warmth, I felt a whoosh in my tummy and a pang in my heart. I sensed Gail was a woman who was simply bursting with love and, as I let out another little bark of excitement, she tickled me gently behind the ears and laughed.

      ‘How would you like to go for a little walk with me, Percy?’ she asked, gently. ‘I’d really like to get to know you better.’

      I rubbed my head against her arm with gratitude, to show my enthusiasm.

      ‘I think that means yes,’ Kelly said, holding out my lead.

      As Gail slipped it onto my collar, I walked obediently alongside her and out into the exercise yard. As I felt the chilly air on my face, I looked up at Gail and uncurled my tail so it could wag freely with unbridled joy. Nobody else had asked me to walk with them, and I was determined Gail would like me as much as I liked her.

      ‘So, Percy, Kelly has been telling me all about you,’ Gail said in a soft, soothing voice. She wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck as the wind gathered speed. ‘It sounds as though you’ve had a bit of bad luck.’

      ‘You’re not wrong,’ I barked in reply, all the while trotting eagerly alongside Gail.

      ‘I know what it’s like,’ she replied. ‘My family has had its fair share of bad luck too. It’s not fair, is it?’ Stopping at a bench, Gail sat down, then placed her warm hands around my little body to sit me on her lap. I breathed in the scent of her floral perfume and relaxed against her legs, the day’s cool temperatures making me shiver. In the three weeks since I had arrived, the weather had taken a decidedly wintery turn and I was enjoying the chance of some human warmth and comfort. ‘I’d love to take you home, Percy,’ she said as she gently stroked my head. ‘I don’t think I’m imagining things when I say I think we’ve developed a bond in the short while we’ve been together.’

      I snuggled deeper into her lap, to show her just how right she was.

      ‘The thing is, boy—’ Gail laughed gently ‘—once you’ve heard a bit about my family, you might feel you wouldn’t want to live with us so it’s only fair I tell you what we’re like.’

      The calm, relaxed and happy feeling I’d been enjoying since Gail had arrived left me.

      ‘My husband, Simon, and I have been together twenty years,’ she said nervously. ‘We met at a party, shortly after he moved to Devon, and we’ve never spent a day apart. When we married fifteen years ago, we were blessed with a beautiful little girl, Jenny, who’s twelve now.’

      At the mention of her daughter, I saw Gail’s eyes brim with tears. My little heart went out to her, and I gingerly rested my warm paw on top of her hand, urging her to carry on. The gesture wasn’t lost on Gail, who looked at me fondly, then buried her face in my fur.

      ‘Jenny’s beautiful, kind, loving, and we adore her,’ Gail continued, her voice thick with emotion, ‘but she has a heart condition, and on top of that, we’ve recently moved from Devon back to London. Well, I say back, Simon’s a plumber and originally from here so has lots of old pals, but I’m lonely with no job or friends and things are a little bit strained between us, if I’m honest.’

      As she finished, Gail gently raked her fingers through my fur and looked at me expectantly. Meeting her eyes, I saw they were filled with genuine warmth and I tried to make sense of everything she had just said. All I had ever wanted was to be a part of a loving family, and it was clear that Gail needed love and care as much as I did. Even though we had only spent an hour or so together, I already felt bonded to this woman who had showered me with affection since we met.

      But Javier’s actions had cast doubt in my mind. I wanted to go home with Gail, I wanted to start again and find love, but I was scared. What if it was all too good to be true? What if this new family forgot about me, what if they decided to move back to Devon and refused to take me with them because Gail hated her new life in London? I was unsure what to do and so I burrowed my way deeper into Gail’s lap, hoping to find the answers there. Nuzzling my face against her hands, I felt the love flood through her fingertips. I realised that nobody knew what the future may hold, but that I was already very attached to Gail. In that moment I tried to convey how much she already meant to me and how much I would be there for her family.

      Gail was as tuned into me as I’d hoped. ‘Well, Percy, you’re on.’ She grinned, setting me down on the ground and crouching down to look into my eyes. ‘I think you and I will make a very good team. And although we don’t know how things will work out, I can promise you one thing: I’ll love you more than any other pug has been loved, if you let me.’

      ‘I’d like that,’ I barked in reply.

      Walking back inside, I felt so happy it was all I could do not to dance a little jig. Finally, I was going to be part of a family again, someone wanted me and I wasn’t going to let them down. As Kelly led Gail into the office to fill out some paperwork, I bumped into Boris, who was being led back inside after playtime.

      ‘You look like the cat who got the cream,’ he barked happily.

      ‘More like the dog who got the big juicy bone,’ I replied. ‘I’ve been adopted.’

      Boris sat on his haunches, raised his right paw to signify a human high five. Tongue lolling joyfully, I raised my left paw, remembering how Javier had taught me the trick, and propelled it forwards to meet the Westie’s.

      ‘Well done, buddy, I couldn’t be happier for you,’ he barked.

      ‘Thanks. She’s the nicest lady in the world,’ I replied. ‘When we met we just clicked and I knew she was the one for me.’

      ‘Didn’t Barney and I tell you there was someone special on their way?’

      I nodded. ‘You did, Boris, and I should have believed you. Now we just have to find you a nice new family.’

      Boris shrugged his shoulders. ‘You’re a very special dog, Percy. You deserve be taken in by someone lovely. If I’m half as lucky I’ll be one lucky Westie.’

      ‘Well, you’re lucky, and loveable, Boris,’ I barked sympathetically. ‘And until you find a nice new owner who will shower you with love, I want to prove to you just how special you are. Come with me.’

      Excited, I trotted down the corridor back to my room, Boris following eagerly behind me, continually asking what was going on. However, I refused to tell him until we reached my quarters. With the door wide open, I went straight inside and saw just what I was looking for. I hadn’t arrived with that much apart from a few toys. All that was left was my prized blue cashmere blanket and my bed. Boris had been unfortunate to receive a hard start

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