by John Tovey
‘SURPRISE!’ the gang called.
Is this for me, Dad? All for me? I asked, my tail wagging in the air. But that wasn’t all. As I turned, I spotted Mum, Vesper, Vicky, Vinnie and Violet all waiting to hug me.
‘I’m so proud of you, Dez,’ Mum sobbed. ‘My boy, Guide Dog of the Year! I always told you that you were special,’ she said, slurping the top of my head with a big, wet kiss.
‘Well done, bruv!’
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned: it was Violet. She stepped forward and wrapped both paws around me.
‘Wait, leave some for me!’ Vicky laughed, as she pushed her out of the way to grab me too.
‘Ooh, I’m so proud, I could burst!’ she wept, making my shoulder damp with her tears. Vinnie peeled her off and pulled me into a big hug.
‘But what about germs?’ I asked.
‘Oh, forget that!’ he said, with a wave of his paw. ‘It’s not every day your brother wins Guide Dog of the Year, is it?’
I shut my eyes and let him hug me. When I opened them, I saw Star standing behind him.
‘Told you, I knew you could do it!’ she said, taking a step forward. ‘I’m so proud of you, Dez. See, it doesn’t matter what shape, size or colour you are, if you’re good and you try your best then you’ll always win!’
‘Come here,’ I said, kissing her on the cheek.
Just then the door to the kitchen opened and out came Niki, my puppy-walker mum, followed by her family, Jon, Molly, Harry and Sam.
‘We’re so proud of you!’ Niki said, smothering me in kisses.
As I cuddled Molly and the boys, Max held his paws up in front of his face and made the sound of a trumpet. Seconds later, Winston walked out of the kitchen with a huge strawberry-shaped cake strapped to his back.
‘Now then, me old china plate, I hopes you’re gonna make a wish,’ he said, winking at me.
Niki carefully undid the cake and placed it down on the floor.
‘But there’s no candle,’ I mumbled.
Without warning, the cake exploded as two paws and a head shot out through the top of it.
‘Ta dah!’ a little voice cried out as a Yorkshire terrier zoomed into view.
‘Roger!’ I gasped. Then I shook my head – he was wearing a long pink coloured evening gown.
‘SURPRISE!’ everyone shouted.
‘Brilliant!’ Roger gasped, tiptoeing out of the remnants of the sticky cake. ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ he said, staring up at me.
‘What, the cake?’
‘No, the dress!’ he said, with a wide smile. I was shocked because I’d never seen Roger smile before. ‘It’s the dress… Look, it’s ruined!’ He threw his head back with laughter, stepped out of the cake, pulled down the dress and kicked it to one side.
‘That’s better! Now then, I thought there was meant to be a paaarrrrty!’
Max jumped to his feet and raced over towards Dad’s CD player. He pressed ‘play’ as ‘House of Fun’, a song by a group called Madness, boomed through the speakers. Dad grinned because it was his favourite band.
‘Oh, I love this one!’ Max hollered above the music as he turned it up to full volume. ‘I love Madness because they’re a little bit crrrrraaazy, like me!’ He jumped and bounced around the room on two back legs. ‘Come on, Meg!’ he cried, pulling her onto the dance floor.
Soon everyone had joined in. Dogs danced, barked and woofed with delight as Kilty howled above them all, singing out of tune along with the music.
‘Eeee, I hope that Simon Cowell’s listening, pet!’ she shouted to me across the room.
‘Is she always that bad at singing?’ Dad asked, putting his fingers inside his ears, ‘because she’s making a right old racket!’
I nodded my head and gazed up at him. As I watched both humans and dogs dance in time to the music, I rested my chin upon his lap. With all my friends and family there, and with Dad by my side, I knew life simply couldn’t get any better. I’d thought becoming a guide dog had been the best moment ever, but I’d been wrong, because today simply was the best day of my life!
THANK YOU
I love my life working as a guide dog and being a best pal to John, but there are so many people and dogs I’d like to thank that I really don’t know where to start, so I’ll start with one of the most important people – Emma Yard. Thank you, Emma, for not only choosing and believing in me, but also for helping to train me and ultimately, for matching me with John, who, thankfully, is as crackers as I am! I’m also grateful to Yvonne and Simon Dutton, my grandparents and boarders, Monica Cave and her husband Roger, and Diana Mager from Guide Dogs. My huge gratitude to John’s nieces, Pippa and Sophie, who not only love and support me, they’ve also raised loads of money at school for Guide Dogs to pay for lots more pups like me. Well done, girls! Lots of love also to Niki, Jon, Sam, Harry and Molly for being the best puppy walkers in the world!
As for my canine pals, a big thank you goes to my best friend Stan, who not only introduced me to park life, but ultimately taught me how to be a better dog too. Thank you to all my doggy pals: Misty, Bonnie, Kilty, Winston, Maxwell, Marvellous Meg, Willow, and, of course, Roger, and also my puppy family for their continued love and support. Special thanks go to Jangle, who as a retired guide dog knows just how important our work is. Every single day Guide Dogs change the lives of blind and partially sighted people. We not only give them freedom to live their lives, we’re also their eyes on the world and their all-round best friends.
There are a few other people I would like to thank who have helped in the writing of this book, namely my avid proofreaders, Rebecca Wordsworth, and Cal and Isabella Ramsay.
Finally, the biggest credit has to go to my new dad, John Tovey. He not only walks and feeds me (though, sadly, not strawberries!), he is my favourite two-legged pal and constant companion. I’d be lost without him because he’s my workmate, Dad and best friend, all rolled into one. I’m a very lucky pup indeed because somehow, and against all the odds, I ended up with the best owner in the world!
PLEASE HELP
I’m donating all my profits from this book to the Guide
Dogs charity because every single day it changes the lives of people. It costs the Guide Dogs a whopping £50,000 to train and care for one guide dog from birth right through to its retirement. A massive £33,000 of this is spent on breeding and training a puppy like me. Guide Dogs rely entirely on donations. If you or your school would like to help pay for more dogs like me, please contact www.guidedogs.org.uk
To sponsor or name a puppy, please call: 0870 2406993.
Thank you,
Dez and John
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