Meet Doris

Hi, Flossie here,

I have been usurped. They told me her presence in my home was a temporary situation. I am not so sure. She was back again today.

Who is she? ‘She’ is Doris, an English Bulldog Puppy.

Meet Doris:

Doris arrived with the little human they coo and ah over all the time. At first, she came with her own crate but she soon gave that up and, horror of horrors, is now allowed to climb into bed with Ol’ Keano.

This is something I have never managed to do, even when I was a tiny pup. Keano would send me packing should I so much as put a paw on his blanket. Doris, it seems, has special privileges. She has her own bed, but prefers his.

Doris wouldn’t win any prizes for beauty. The boss seems to think she is pretty but hey, from a dog’s point of view? She looks as though she has walked into a wall at speed. She would scoop all the prizes for muscle though.

I must say, at 14 months, I retain some of my puppy playfulness so, for me it has been a bonus having a visitor who likes a rough and tumble. But goodness, can that girl pack a punch! I am having a hard time keeping her under control.

Luckily, she seems to have an in-built radar for avoiding trouble and has, so far, neither tried to steal my food nor bury my toys.

There are some things that Doris does that I am not so happy about though. Take yesterday for example. Yesterday, she allowed herself to be lifted onto one of the young human’s laps. Naturally, I tried to follow suit, only to be told I was far too big. Now when did that happen? When did I grow too big to climb on a lap? I asked Ol’ Keano that question but he just looked at me as though I was daft.

I caught sight of my reflection in the water, in the woods today – maybe I am a little too big to be a lap-dog now. Doris didn’t come with us on the grounds that she is still little and, on a short walk the other day with the Boss, her owner and the tiny human on wheels, she had to lie down for a rest. I remember those days well.  (The Boss’s daughter says that on a walk in her home town a couple of weeks ago, Doris suddenly climbed onto the tray beneath the pram and lay there expecting a ride.) Since then she has surely grown too heavy for such carryings on.

There are some benefits to having Doris visit us. I have a constant playmate.

I am not quite sure why the Boss objects to us playing beneath the coffee table. It could be that Doris used to fit under it easily but is now in danger of walking off with it on her back. Judging by Doris’s stature, she’d make a good coffee table herself one day.

As we roll about with the odd snarl and playful growl, the Boss can be heard yelling,

“Out! Out!” at the top of her voice, in that ‘no-nonsense’ way of hers. Doris obediently runs (or rather waddles) out of the house, so, off I go too, just to show I know what is required.

All this activity takes its toll and both of us take time to recover. Doris seems to like curling up with me for her afternoon nap and who am I to complain? It’s really rather nice having a little pup around.

1. The art of looking cute – (sit and gaze soulfully up at the nearest human and wait for a reaction.) Doris is practising this one.
2. Never wee in the house – Doris has almost got this one sussed but just as I did, she sometimes confuses ‘outside’ with the dining room or the far reaches of the house.
3. Do not chew the human’s shoes, they wont be best pleased – this was working well until yesterday when she munched on a particularly tasty item of footwear found lurking beneath the sofa.
4. Come when called – I am ashamed to say that Doris seems to have caught onto this one far quicker than I…as the Boss is only too keen to point out!
5. Sleep in your own bed – sadly, Doris cannot comprehend this one at all and continues to climb in with Ol’ Keano who, to my utter astonishment, lets her!

At the end of a strenuous day though, it is rather nice to snuggle up together while the Humans watch the box in the corner and though Doris snores for England, I think we are all agreed, she is rather cute!