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And it’s usually when we least expect them...

The all-too-familiar tear rolled down her cheek. She blinked it away in the all-too-familiar way, the way she did almost every day. She turned away from the tiny new baby sleeping soundly without a care in the world in the safety of her sling, attached to her adoring mummy.

Gemma composed herself and moved on to another aisle in her local supermarket. Her eyes scanned the shelves only to become transfixed by a picture of a smiling baby on a packet of baby food. She moved swiftly to the checkout to put herself out of this ongoing misery.

Gemma was slowly coming to terms with the fact that maybe motherhood wasn’t meant for her. She loved her husband, Tom, and although he would love to be a daddy, he clearly didn’t feel the physical pain she endured on a daily basis. In fact, she doubted anybody did.

Travelling home that night, she gave herself a stern talking to, reminding herself she had tried everything but nothing appeared to work. The consultant telling her, ‘There’s no reason why you can’t conceive, Mrs Arnold,’ gave little comfort. Three failed IVF treatments only added to her misery.

The next morning, she awoke with a more (albeit slightly) positive outlook and headed off to work, trying hard to concentrate on the day ahead. It was a long day and she only remembered it was her birthday as she left the office.

‘I must make an effort to be cheerful,’ Gemma told herself as she entered her house, only to be met with an eerie silence. It was unusual, as there was always music playing when her husband was at home. For one moment of panic, she hoped she was not walking into a surprise party but, as she entered the lounge, she saw a basket on the floor and two large brown eyes peering up at her. They belonged to a small but nervous-looking puppy.

Gemma’s heart melted as she scooped up the tiny dog into her arms.

Then Tom entered the room with the same nervous look on his face as the puppy.

He and Gemma had discussed at length the idea of buying

a dog. They had done lots of research before agreeing they had the time and space to bring one into their home.

Finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but motherhood, Gemma had been putting off getting a puppy, but now, she instantly fell in love with this bundle of fluff.

‘I’ll call you Dolly,’ she announced, and from then on, the pair were inseparable. Gemma enjoyed taking Dolly on her morning walk and, over the coming months, would often take her into the office. Providing none of her colleagues left footwear on the floor, Dolly’s behaviour was impeccable.

While doing Dolly’s routine vaccinations, the vet had suggested a new dog food suitable for her age group, and as Gemma spooned it into her dog’s bowl, she murmured, ‘Mummy has bought you some nice food to keep you healthy.’ But as she did so, she reeled.

The smell was so overpowering it made her feel nauseous. ‘Oh Dolly, I can’t give you this, it’s disgusting,’ she thought. But when she opened a pack of her pet’s usual food, the same thing happened.

Gemma called Tom into the kitchen to tell him all the dog food had gone off, but when her husband checked, he told her that it smelt okay to him. Dolly devoured it, too, so it clearly wasn’t the dog food.

As Gemma left the kitchen, her eyes fell upon the date on the calendar and she thought: ‘Could this be the miracle I’ve been waiting for?’