I should know better

Demented. aka Decibelle, was two on Sunday. But really, inside, she`s still a puppy. She is unquestioningly devoted to pork pies (preferably Melton Mowbray, so celebrating the event was easy.

She is registered as Decibelle, not without reason. She is without question the loudest little person ever. The day she was born she began to screech, and has never stopped. I still remember when she was about six hours old, having to take her mother, Dido, out of the nest for a cuddle while the tiny puppy circled the nest endlessly, squealing. Dido gave me a look that voiced the age-old plaint of the young mother - "I`ve fed her and washed her and put her down and she still won`t settle - what do I do now?" Alas, this was only the beginning.

We have all come to know the voice well. She sleeps on my bed, partly out of sentiment, but mostly to stop her greeting the dawn with a voice made out of rusty razor blades.

Recently she was ill, and refused to eat. Being small (9 inches at the shoulder), she lost weight and condition quickly and ended up at the vet. "We`ll keep her in and put her on a drip and try to get the appetite up".....

Two hours later I had a call. In the background was a sound I knew well, leading an enthusiastic doggy chorus.

"Come and take her home! She has taken a litttle food, and I`ll give you a nutrition mix and you must come right now! ....... Is it coincidence that she`s called Decibelle?"

I admitted that it was not, and collected her.

She loves life, and especially shows, where she wins on pure impudence. She poses cheekily on the table and sizes up the judge out of lowered lids......she knows instantly when she has a chance of making a fool of the poor soul and is ready to put on an all-singing all-dancing performance. It doesn`t seem to count against her.

Her birthday coincided with the Club show. She went, and had a whale of a time, swaggering, screeching, annoying all my other dogs, leading the judge a merry dance........a wonderful day.

And she ended up Reserve Best Bitch.

Home with a waggy tail to a cuddle and a pork pie.

LIfe`s not bad if you`re Decibelle