Old Poppy grateful for second chances

MY name is Poppy. I’m about 13 years old and I’m a little Jack Russell living in Crumlin, Dublin.

Come here to me, I’ll be straight with you. I’m no saint. I’ve done some things that I’m not proud of, eaten a few things I shouldn’t have, you know yourself… but look, before you judge me, you need to hear my story.

I don’t like to talk about my early life. I learned to be wary of humans and trust no one. When I was around seven or eight years old, I wound up in the pound. I spent eight days on Death Row, never knowing when my time would be up.

On my eighth day, I was carried out of my kennel so I thought it was curtains for me. Turned out, some family had come to the pound to give a little dog a second chance.

I wasn’t in the best shape. I was very thin, had kennel cough, runny eyes and my nails were badly overgrown. On top of all that, I had tumours on my mammary glands.

Long story short, I had a long road to recovery ahead of me. I wasn’t used to any sort of kindness. As a result, I wasn’t exactly the world’s best patient.

That’s putting it mildly. I might have bitten my mam, my dad, my nana, a vet or two along the way… but, this is a story of redemption.

And I changed my ways. It took a long time but I slowly learned to trust my family and behave myself.

Nowadays, you wouldn’t recognise me. I’m a new woman. I’ve had a tummy tuck to sort out those tumours and I have a great figure for a lady of my age.

My nana spoils me rotten. I have a special bond with my dad, I even let him rub my tummy. I have my own comfy suitcase for a bed that I love to hide my treasures in. You know, things like empty yogurt pots and balls of wool that stick out of nana’s knitting bag.

I live happily with my big family. There’s myself; my little brother Murphy, the Pomeranian mix; and my little sister Scout, who’s also a Jack Russell. I suppose I better mention the two cats, Noodles and Marco. Oh, and the ex-battery hens. We have our moments but usually we’re all great pals.

My dad always says that I am a good dog at heart. I still have a few, shall we say, quirks…

But hey, no one’s perfect.

Niamh Holland, Crumlin, Dublin 12

If you would like your pet featured in this column please send a story of 440 words and a photograph to snews@independent.ie clearly labelled MY PET