Читать книгу A Pug Like Percy: A heartwarming tale for the whole family - Fiona Harrison, Fiona Harrison - Страница 10

In the days that followed I began to settle into a routine with my new family. I was usually woken early by Jenny who would gently ruffle my ears, then open the back door for me so I could spend a penny. When I returned, I would find she had always made breakfast for me, and as I tucked in, she often liked to sit and watch me eat as the house gradually came to life.

After good morning strokes and kisses from Gail, Simon would throw on his old wax jacket and I would whimper in delight, knowing our early morning walk to the park was imminent. Patiently, I would sit by the front door and wait as Simon clipped on my lead, then we would trot down the road together chatting away about the day ahead. Although the ground was now covered in a thick frost, this morning was no different. As he yawned and stretched, jerking my lead so my collar caught my throat, I let out a yelp of agony.

‘Oh, sorry, mate,’ Simon said, loosening my lead. ‘I’m a bit knackered this morning, didn’t sleep all that well. Me and Gail had a row last night.’

I woofed in sympathy. I had been out like a light last night and had not heard a peep from either of them.

‘To be honest with you, Percy, it feels like me and Gail are always having words,’ Simon confided. ‘This week we’ve rowed about the washing-up, the car and the fact I’m apparently always out with my mates in the pub after work. It’s all doing my head in to be honest, I like a quiet life.’

As we walked up the lane dodging the icy patches on the pavement, I turned my face to meet his and barked again, encouraging him to get it all off his chest.

‘Course I’m not stupid like a lot of blokes, Perce,’ he continued. ‘I know Gail, and I know what she’s really upset about is the fact Jenny has to go back into hospital; but every time I say that to her, she bites my head off. I don’t know what to do for the best.’

I said nothing and just listened as we walked along the road. I’d come to know Simon well enough to realise he said more when he was uninterrupted by my woofs of support.

‘Since Jenny was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, Gail’s been different, permanently on edge, you know. I thought moving back to London so we could be nearer to the hospital would make life easier. I mean, we were spending all our time on the motorway as it was with various appointments. But at least this way we’ve got my mum around to help.’ He sighed, scratching the bristles of his day-old beard. ‘The truth is, I think she blames me, Perce. My dad had heart trouble and this heart condition Jenny’s got is genetic. Gail’s never come out and said anything, but I think deep down, she feels it’s my fault. When Dad passed away because of his ticker last year she was more upset than me. I think she thought it would be Jenny next.’

He stopped, then bent down, his eyes meeting mine. ‘I’m sorry, Percy. You’re such a terrific dog, you don’t deserve all this rubbish. You deserve a home that’s happy and carefree.’

My eyes widened. Did Simon want to send me back to the tails of the forgotten already? It wasn’t Christmas yet, I still had at least six weeks to prove myself.

‘Don’t make me go back,’ I yelped frantically.

‘Oh, mate,’ Simon said, kissing the top of my head with his cold lips, ‘despite what you may think from all my moans and groans in the morning, you’ve changed our lives for the better, Perce.’

My cheeks puffed with pride as we reached the safety of the park. ‘You’re my family too,’ I barked, licking his face as he unclipped my collar. ‘Which is why I’ll be the best dog in the world if you’ll just let me stay with you for ever.’

‘Go on, mate,’ Simon called loudly, ignoring my barks of plea, ‘run free for a bit.’

I hardly needed any encouragement and ran across the green space that was rock-hard thanks to the wintery frost. Despite the cold, a visit to the park was one of the highlights of my day. There were lots of trees to have a tinkle behind, plenty of grass to run around on, not to mention loads of abandoned tennis balls that were begging to be chewed. Seeing one now, I pounced on it in delight just as a young, boisterous Border collie raced towards me.

‘I’m Bugsy, but you can call me Bugs,’ he said, panting excitedly. ‘Me and my gang have seen you here every day for the last few days, and have wondered who you are. I said I’d find out, so I’ve come to introduce myself and bring you back to meet the others. Do you want to come now?’

His wild-eyed enthusiasm and endless stream of chat was both impressive and exhausting. Watching him run around me in circles reminded me of some of the dogs I had met at the tails of the forgotten and I realised he was barely more than a pup.

‘I’m Percy,’ I replied slowly, trying to calm the youngster down. ‘I’ve just moved in with Simon and Gail in Barksdale Way.’

‘Cor! Barksdale Way’s a bit fancy. Full of families that think they’re no better than they should be – least that’s what my owners Johnny and Bella say – but I don’t know what that means. Do you want to come and meet my friends now?’ Bugs barked relentlessly.

I thought my head would explode with laugher. You could always rely on a young pup to tell you just how it is, I thought wryly.

‘I’d love to meet everyone,’ I woofed agreeably, following behind as he raced to the other end of the park.

‘This is Percy,’ he puffed, rounding up all his pals. ‘He’s just moved in with a new family in Barksdale Way.’

‘Very good, old boy. Welcome to the gang,’ woofed an elderly looking spaniel. With his greying whiskers, he reminded me a little bit of Kelly at the tails of the forgotten and was clearly a dog that had seen and done it all.

‘I’m Jake,’ he continued, ‘out and about most mornings, hips allowing.’ With that, he shifted his lower half from the wet, dank grass and wriggled his bottom to get more comfortable.

A sweet-looking German shepherd looked at Jake. ‘Are you all right, lovey? Your hips look like they’re playing up more than usual this morning.’

‘Oh, I’m fine,’ Jake barked in reply. ‘It’s this cold December weather. Christmas is no fun for old dogs like me.’

‘Don’t talk soft,’ the German shepherd replied gently, before turning to me. ‘And you’re Percy, I just heard Bugsy say. Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Percy. I’m Heather and you’re welcome to come and hang around with us of a morning any time you want to. Who are your owners?’

‘Gail and Simon,’ I barked again, gesturing towards Simon, who was busy chatting to a small blonde woman at the corner of a park.

The two looked as if they had known each other for years by the way they were gassing away. I was about to ask the others if they knew who she was when I became distracted by the lead the woman was holding. Straining impatiently at the leash, was the most beautiful pug I had ever seen. Blonde, with dark markings and trademark big brown eyes, her paws looked tantalisingly beautiful, and the set of her jaw left my own hanging open in longing.

‘That’s Peg, old boy,’ Jake barked quietly, as he sidled up to me. ‘She’s just a young thing, and spoiled, a bit like her owner, but she’s a good girl at heart.’

‘Jake, she’s a sweetheart,’ Heather protested, as she scratched her ear in frustration. ‘Don’t put Percy off before they’ve even met.’

‘Oh, Heather,’ Bugsy barked affectionately. ‘You always see the best in a dog, even me, and I’m always getting it wrong and I know you tell me it’s just my age, but it’s not always and anyway, I don’t think Percy’s about to be put off any time soon. His jaw’s on the floor and he’s dribbling. Is he sick, Heather?’

‘No, sweetie,’ Heather woofed affectionately. ‘He’s just got a bit of a crush, the poor thing.’

Bugsy grimaced. ‘Yuck! On Peg? But she’s a girl.’

I’d heard enough of this nonsense and turned back to face the others, who were all looking at me agog.

‘I don’t have a crush. I just think it’s nice to meet another pug, that’s all,’ I objected, hoping my traitorous, thumping heart wouldn’t give me away.

I turned back to look at Peg, only to find she was scampering towards us. I gulped noisily and felt my nose moisten with nerves as I turned to Heather. ‘How do I look?’

‘Like a prince, pet,’ she barked kindly.

‘Come and meet our new boy, Percy,’ Heather barked as Peg approached. ‘He lives around the corner in Barksdale Way.’

‘Ooh, that’s a bit posh,’ Peg panted, echoing Bugsy’s words as she scampered to join me. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Percy. Can I come around and see your place sometime?’

‘Steady on, old girl,’ Jake barked sagely. ‘Perce here has just arrived. It’s a bit soon to be inviting yourself over for a bowl of Pedigree Chum.’

‘Sorry, Percy,’ Peg woofed a little shamefaced. ‘Where are my manners? It’s just rare to meet another pug, especially not one that lives in such a nice part of town. I got carried away, that’s all.’

‘That’s okay,’ I replied, her beauty leaving me almost barkless. ‘I’d love to have you visit. I’ll see if I can encourage Simon to invite your owner over.’

‘Oh, our Sally doesn’t need much encouragement,’ Peg barked knowingly. ‘She’s a sucker for a pretty face that girl. I suppose that’s where I get it from.’

Heather turned to Peg. ‘How is your Sally now?’

Peg rolled her big brown eyes in despair. ‘She’s all right, Heather. But it doesn’t take much for Sally to start turning on the old waterworks. She’d only been on a couple of dates with this latest one but she’s been sobbing on my fur all week about how she thought he was the one, whatever that means.’

‘She’s been looking for love in all the wrong places again,’ Heather barked sympathetically.

‘You can bark that again,’ Peg replied. ‘Honestly, she’s getting on my nerves with all these tears. We always have such a nice time when it’s just the two of us, I can’t understand why she wants to ruin everything by chasing after every man in trousers.’

‘It’s not our job to understand, Peg,’ Jake barked wisely. ‘It is ours merely to be there for our owners whenever they need us.’

‘And I am, Jake,’ Peg insisted, her little tail, curling and uncurling in frustration. ‘But all these tears are making my fur soggy and cold.’

Jake patted her much younger paws with his old wizened ones. ‘I do understand, my dear, but such is our lot. Into this life a little rain must fall.’

‘Literally, when it comes to our Sal,’ Peg barked mutinously. ‘Anyway, what about everyone else? I can’t be the only one with owner problems.’

Being new to the group, I didn’t want to speak first, but the others wasted no time comparing war stories.

‘Well, I’m sure it’s no secret that mine are getting divorced,’ Heather barked matter-of-factly. ‘It’s been a long time coming. Pete’s been convinced for years she’s been cheating on him so he finally got fed up and hired a private detective to do some digging last month.’

I rolled my eyes in amazement. Was that really something humans did? I looked around the rest of the group, but they did not appear remotely surprised.

‘And he found some evidence that she’d been with someone else?’ Peg woofed compassionately.

‘No, she hadn’t been cheating at all,’ Heather barked with exasperation. ‘But when she met the private detective, she fell head over heels and has now moved in with him, so Pete really has got something to worry about and is either moping about the house or throwing plates in the garden. I have to be careful when I pop out for my evening tinkle.’ Heather shook her head in disgust. ‘What about the rest of you? I can’t be the only one suffering thanks to my daft owners.’

Bugsy cocked his head and let his tongue loll to one side, an unattractive pool of drool gathering at the corner of his mouth. ‘My owners have just had a baby,’ he barked. ‘Jasper’s really sweet and cute and I like to look at him when my parents have gone to bed, but he’s not asleep very often when it gets dark. In fact, most of the time he’s awake and he’s crying, and screaming and waking everyone up because he shouts so loudly. I never get any sleep and neither do Mum and Dad and they’re tired, and I’m tired and all I want to do is go to bed. Sometimes I think I could sleep standing up, but then I know I’d fall over and probably hurt myself. My owners say they haven’t got time to play with me any more because they’re so tired and I miss going for walks with my parents in the morning because instead I’ve got the neighbour’s son, Maxwell, taking me and he’s horrible and listens to his headphones all the time and I’m fed up!’

With that, Bugsy slumped to the floor, his head on his paws in despair. As he let out a howl of frustration, Jake and Heather rushed to his side and encouraged him to his paws.

‘Come on, Bugsy, lovey, don’t take on so,’ Heather barked soothingly. ‘Jasper won’t be a baby for long and Johnny and Bella will be playing with you again before you know it.’

‘Absolutely, old boy,’ agreed Jake. ‘My owner’s son, Patrick, was a baby once, made a huge racket night and day for months. Thought it was never going to end, but it did, and now the boy’s almost a man. Mighty fine chap too, I might add. Stick with it, Bugsy, this baby phase won’t last for long and your owners will come to rely on you once more over the years.’

‘But it’s so horrible,’ Bugsy groaned, ‘I liked it better before he came along.’

I scratched my ear thoughtfully with my hind leg. Bugsy’s people were probably just a bit distracted at the minute, but they still loved him. Bugsy just needed to figure out a way to try to get his family a little sleep, then they might have a bit more time for him.

‘How about we try to help you, Bugs?’ I barked. ‘There must be something we can do to give your family a bit of a rest.’

‘Oooh, what were you thinking, Percy?’ asked Peg, turning her pretty face to meet mine. ‘I love a man with brains and beauty.’

My heart fluttered nervously in my chest. Was Peg flirting with me?

‘There’s no point,’ Bugsy barked once more, interrupting my thoughts. ‘They don’t care about anyone else apart from Jasper. I might as well move out and live at the tails of the forgotten. At least I would get some peace and there would be other people to care for me.’

‘That’s enough,’ I barked reprovingly. ‘Your family are just a bit distracted at the moment that’s all. There’s no need to go wishing yourself to a shelter, if anyone knows it’s me, I’ve just come from there.’

The others looked at me in surprise before Heather broke the silence. ‘You never said, lovey.’

‘Well, I want to make the best of my new start,’ I woofed in explanation. ‘I’m looking to the future now, not at the past.’

‘Quite right, old boy,’ Jake barked in agreement.

‘Yes, Percy, ignore me, I didn’t mean to pry,’ Heather barked apologetically before looking at Bugsy. ‘Now, it sounds to me that if we can get you and your family some sleep things will improve for all of you. In my experience, the best thing to get a child to stay asleep is a lullaby. How about we all gather outside your house tonight Bugsy and sing Jasper to sleep.’

‘Can you sing, Heather?’ Peg barked incredulously.

Heather looked at the floor and toed the ground self-consciously with her paw. ‘Well, I don’t like to brag, but I always used to sing my owners’ girls to sleep when they were very little and they drifted off to sleep immediately.’

‘I was once a member of the Welsh Dog Voice Choir,’ Jake yapped. ‘We had the children of the Valleys asleep in seconds. Of course, that was a few years ago now and my lungs aren’t what they were.’

‘Nonsense, Jake, you’ve a lovely voice,’ Heather barked warmly before turning to me. ‘What about you, Percy? Can you bark a tune?’

‘I’ve never really sung. Perhaps the odd note in the bath,’ I barked. ‘But I’m willing to try, if you think it will help, Bugsy.’

‘Me too,’ barked Peg, sidling closer to me. ‘Percy’s right, we’ve all got to stick together.’

‘Then it’s agreed,’ yapped Heather delightedly. ‘We’ll meet at Bugsy’s at six tonight, so we’re ready for Jasper’s bedtime and can have a practice. I’ll rap out the usual three barks for you.’

‘What shall we sing?’ Peg asked.

‘How about “Baa Baa Black Sheep” or “Hush Little Baby”?’ suggested Jake. ‘In my experience, those two songs always get the children off to sleep quickly.’

‘Good idea. Now can everyone get away? Percy, Bugsy lives on the next road to yours so we could meet at the corner of your street if that suits?’ asked Heather.

I looked around me and saw barks of assent all around. Quickly, I thought how I would make my escape. Gail, Simon and Jenny usually ate their dinner at six so it would be quite easy for me to wriggle through their old cat flap.

‘Sounds good,’ I barked excitedly.

‘Excellent,’ Heather yapped delightedly again. ‘Now, just one thing, not a word to anyone. No matter how lovely your owners are if they find out we’re performing our very own dog quartet they’ll be furious.’

‘Or at the very least, we’ll end up on the front page of one of the tabloids,’ added Jake. ‘And the last thing we want is the press camped out whenever we go to the park.’

‘Quite right, Jake,’ agreed Heather. ‘Remember when old John got caught rescuing his owner from a fire? He couldn’t move for journalists for weeks! None of you breathe a word, especially you, Bugsy.’

At the sound of being singled out, Bugsy groaned. ‘Honestly, Heather, I won’t say a word. I know there was that time I told Saul the shih-tzu around the corner that we wanted to do something nice for Jake’s birthday and then there was a massive party, which Jake didn’t want—’

‘And always made it clear to you, old boy, I never wanted,’ Jake insisted, cutting across him.

‘Which Jake never wanted,’ Bugsy admitted, ‘but it was an accident, I’ve learned my lesson. I swear to you, Heather, I won’t let you down, I promise.’

As Bugsy looked at us beseechingly, it was all I could do not to bark with laughter. The poor youngster looked so earnest.

‘Don’t worry, Bugs?’ we trust you, and all of us will keep our mouths shut, won’t we?’ I woofed.

‘Course we will. Percy, looks like you and me are wanted,’ Peg barked as she looked over at Simon and Sally who were waving like a pair of mad things, calling for us to join them.

‘Until tonight then,’ I barked.

‘Until tonight,’ Jake replied. ‘And remember, all of you, not a word to anyone.’