I’ve enjoyed my first day off today in who-knows-how-long. I think the last day off I had was the day we drove 250 miles to collect Lola from her birth home, which, although filled with happiness, was hardly relaxing.

As days off for me are as rare as hens’ teeth, I’ve “downed tools” and done very little except to watch our new team and play with them. Each day brings with it a thousand moments of pure joy – the moment that we realise JD has Lola’s head right inside his mouth yet he doesn’t hurt her in the slightest. The moment that they settle down besides one another to sleep. The one where she is sprawled across his head biting his ear…..I could go on and on but it’s probably boring so I won’t.

This shot of them on either end of a raggie is a really nice indicator of their play, albeit not necessarily a great photo. He could easily tug the toy away from her and walk away but he tugs gently, pulling her across the room, he then lets her tug him back across the other way. He is definitely letting her have a few little victories. The toy, by the way, was new yesterday and in 24 hours has gone from a rope with knots in both ends to a tangled mass of cotton that will be destroyed completely in another 24 hours and be on the fire by this time tomorrow I expect.

Lola has three buttons – one that delivers Mad, one for Turbo Mad and one for Stop – sadly we don’t know where to find the stop button, it just seems to kick in itself after about an hour and a half of Mad/Turbo Mad.

Strangely (for me) David doesn’t get the “puppy tummy” thing – anyone who has ever owned a tiny puppy will know that their tummies are naked for the first few months of their life – no fur. They’re warm to the touch because dogs are naturally hotter than people and (for me at least) there is a sublime pleasure in tickling a puppy’s tummy. I’d forgotten how good it was.

JD is loving having Lola around, after a few days of studied indifference at the beginning. He seems to have grown in confidence and stature over the last few weeks and delights in being with her. He’s permanently got scratches on his snout where her razor sharp teeth have scratched him and drawn blood but he wears his “war wounds” with pride.

We are in the lucky position of having two pups – although JD is fully grown and has been since long before he was ours, he’s not yet three years old. One of the best things about recent weeks is the feeling that with love, luck and a following wind we won’t have to go through the loss of one of our babies for many years to come. Both of us are deeply grateful for that feeling.

Each day with a really young puppy is filled with mayhem and chaos – not to mention pleasure and pain. It’s like living with a whirlwind in the house. I wouldn’t have it any other way!