and handed me a small, wriggling, bright-eyed little bundle.
'Oh, aren't you beautiful!' I said, taking hold of him. He
was just like the picture I had of Emma at two weeks old.
Don looked at him with as much admiration as I did. 'Isn't
he lovely? I wish Buttons had been a puppy but, of course,
we've never seen any advertised.'
'No,' said Mrs Hall, 'I don't think you will. Chocolate
Labradors are getting very popular now, but it's been a long,
hard struggle. We've been breeding them since the nineteenthirties,
and originally no one wanted to know very much. The
demand was all for yellows and blacks. In fact, I think some
breeders put chocolate Labradors down!'
I was horrified. I couldn't believe her. I was really upset at
the idea and held the small bundle closer to me. The idea of
having any puppy put down was bad enough, but chocolate
Labradors . . . I thought of little Emma and I wanted to
weep.
'Yes,' said Mrs Hall. 'It's terrible, but they wouldn't do it
now. We've got a waiting-list, and we're not the only ones.'
I returned the little puppy back to his family where he immediately
tunnelled under several brothers and sisters, determined
to get back to mum.
I44
Don, still all smiles and plainly radiant with delight at the
surprise, said, 'What do you think, then?'
I didn't know what to say. The puppy was so lovely and
cuddly and so reminded me of what Emma must have been
like-though I had never known her then, and had seen only
photographs-it was almost heart-breaking. But there were so
many considerations. We had talked about breeding 'little
Emmas' as an idea, but without really going into practical
details. This all tied in with our ambition to buy a big kennels.
Yet we had not discussed what Emma might think and how she
might react to yet another addition to the family, and a tiny
one at that. I thought Don had been wonderful arranging this
as a birthday treat . . . and yet . . . I felt I could not take a
decision there and then. I was torn in two. Nevertheless, I
was sure it would not be fair if we said on the spot that we
would take this little dog without really going into all the
implications.
'I think he's lovely, really lovely,' I said at last, 'and I think
it's the most wonderful birthday present I could ever have. But
don't you think we ought to give it twenty-four hours before we
decide, Don? I really do want him. But we've got Emma to
think about. Would Mrs Hall let us ring her tomorrow, and
then we shan't be letting her down if she's got another good
home for him to go to.'
Even as I said it, I hated the thought of this little puppy going
anywhere but back to join Emma and Buttons. Furthermore,
while I had been standing there I'd had an inspiration. It had
come to me that the little puppy's colour was exactly that of the
bracken which by the autumn is so browned and burnished in
the sun. I thought he ought to be called 'Bracken'.
But we had to be sensible, and I explained everything to
Mrs Hall.
She readily agreed to our idea, but added, 'You won't keep
me m-aiting too long, will you? Because there are one or two
others very keen on having him.'
We promised we would let her know by the next day at the
very latest.
'If we do decide to take him,' I asked, 'when would we be
able to pick him up?'
I45
I imagined Mrs Hall would name a date in about a month
or so, but she said, 'When he's six weeks old ... in about three
weeks' time.'
I was rather surprised it was so soon but I didn't say anything,
and Mrs Hall had the final word.
'If you do decide to have him,' she said, 'you'll promise me
one thing, won't you?'
'What's that?' I asked, wondering what was coming.
Mrs Hall laughed. 'I was most disappointed that you didn't
bring Emma with you today. I so wanted to see her, having read
so much about her. If you do come again to pick up the new
one, you will bring Emma as well, won't you?'
We all laughed.
'Of course,' I said. 'In any case, it's Emma who will have the
last word!'
We got into the car and set off for home. I turned to Don.
'Well, all I can say is thanks aga-l-i, petal. But you've no idea
what went through my mind. I knew you'd fixed something up,
but I hadn't the faintest inkling that that's what it would turn
out to be.'
Don looked very happy. 'Well, I wanted it to be a surprise.'
'It certainly was that.'
Then, more seriously, Don said, 'But what do you think? I
knew we couldn't decide then, but I had to reserve the puppy
in case-because I didn't want to miss the opportunity.'
'I know,' I said. 'But what it all boils down to, I suppose,
and what we most don't want to do is to upset Emma. She took
to Buttons immediately, but then Buttons was more grown-up
and the same sex. What would she think about an energetic
little bundle who would get under her feet and wouldn't even
be house-trained? I don't know.'
'No,' said Don, 'Emma's made great pals with Buttons and
obviously gets on with her, but Emma still comes first. The
trouble is there's no way of telling how she would get on with
a puppy unless we tried it for real. It's not like those book offers
where they let you have it for a fortnight on approval, send-nomoney-
unless-satisfied kind of thing.'
I thought about this as we went south down the motorway.
Don had given me an idea.
I46
'I'm not so sure,' I said at last. 'What about this: Mrs Hall
says she's got a waiting-list for chocolate Labradors. If we took
Bracken ... the puppy that is-I think he ought to be called
Bracken whatever happens, he's such a gorgeous colour-I'm
sure Nlrs Hall would understand if it turned out that Emma
couldn't stand him, and she would have no trouble at all in
finding someone else who wanted him.'
'That's true,' said Don. 'And if we had to, we could go back
to our first idea of finding an older stud dog to mate with
Buttons, because, after all, the only point of it all is to bring
some new little Emmas along.'
I agreed, and we decided to ring Mrs Hall as soon as we got
back.
She listened to our plan and, to our relief, said she had no
objection. After we had made arrangements to pick up Bracken
in three weeks' time, towards the end of October, she again had
the final word:
'Don't forget to bring Emma, will you? I'm really only
making an exception because of her!'
While this was going on, Emma was on her settee and Buttons
was on the hearthrug. 'Little do you know,' I said, 'you two are
going), to have a very small brother, and, Emma, I do hope you
like him because we're depending on you.'
Buttons carried on sleeping, but Emma opened an eye and
gazed up rather quizzically with a look that s
uggested: 'I know
there's something afoot. I don't know what. But this sort of
thing is nothing new. I'll wait for it to happen.' And she closed
the eye and went to sleep again.
The prospect of having little Bracken made me very happy.
I was somehow confident that Emma, who had shown she was
by no means set in her ways when Buttons had arrived on the
scene, would also get on with Bracken. Only one other slight
problem seemed to be on the horizon. I was still a bit perturbed
about taking Bracken at only six weeks. They were still only
babies at that age. Somehow I had It In my mind that the minimlim
age for puppies to leave their mums tbr the outside world
was eight weeks at the -,.,-cry least. Yet I knew Mrs Hall was
experienced, and trusted her.
It was a happy coincidence, then, that about a fortnight later
I47
I happened to meet Derek Freeman. Derek is in charge of
puppy-walking and of the puppy-breedii,g scheme for GuideDogs.
I met him when I was lucky enough to be shown round
Tollgate House near Leamington Spa, which is the centre for
these activities. Derek knew more about dogs, about whelping,
rearing and training than anyone I had ever met. If you showed
him the pedigree of any Labrador he could tell you about any
dog on the chart.
He showed me a litter of puppies who were about to go and
be puppy-walked, which is an essential stage of training for
future guide-dogs.
'How old are they?' I asked.
'Six weeks,' he said. 'They always go out to be puppy-walked
at six weeks.'
Once again I was amazed.
'Isn't that rather young ?'
'No, no, not at all. We've tried all sorts of different ages, and
we've found that if they go out at six weeks they settle better
with their puppy-walker, they learn to be house-clean and
they're socialized that much earlier. It's the ideal age. You've
got to remember that up to this age these dogs have been living
in a litter in a kennel, and the sooner they can get out and have
individual attention and training the better they're going to be.
We really have had much more success with puppies going out
at six weeks than at any other time.
Then I told him about our plans for breeding, our ambitions
for having our own kennels, and about Bracken, and my
reaction to collecting him at the age of six weeks.
'Well,' said Derek, 'that breeder's quite right. You mark my
words. You'll train your puppy very easily if you have him at
that age and he'll be house-clean in no time at all.'
I told him that it was by no means certain that we would be
able to keep Bracken when we got him, and that it all depended
on Emma.
Derek laughed. 'I know how you feel,' he said, 'but don't
cross your bridges till you come to them. I shouldn't worry.'
So, when the big day arrived for us to go back to Alfreton
and collect Bracken, my mind was quite at rest on this score.
This time we all went: Kerensa, Emma, Buttons, as well as
I48
Don and myself. I felt that with yet another dog we should soon
need a bus rather than a car.
We got to Mrs Hall's. She was thrilled to see Emma and liked
the look of Buttons, and let them both out on to her lawn where
they proceeded to take no further interest in the business of
collecting an addition to their family. Then she brought
Bracken to us, and he looked even more lovely than when we
had first seen him. He was bigger and his coat seemed richer
than ever in colour. Kerensa squealed with delight and wanted
to hold him, and, true to form, danced up and down, saying,
'Mummy, Mummy, another Emma!'
And, with Bracken on my lap, and Emma and Buttons taking
only the mildest of interests, this strange caravanserai made its
way back. If that's how the other two are going to treat him, I
thought, he'll just have to stay. We had agreed with Mrs Hall
that we would give it a fortnight to see how things worked.
But we need never have worried. All Derek Freeman's
assurances came true. Bracken was house-trained within the two
weeks, and Emma and Buttons, though appearing disdainful
at first, soon accepted him in his place-as a puppy.
At first Emma quite ignored him. She pretended that he
simply did not exist. Bracken, in turn, would rush up to Emma
thinking she was his mum, scrabble with his paws, and stretch
up to try and lick her nose. Emma would back away in disgust
and, mustering as much dignity as possible, retire to her sacred
place on the settee. Bracken stood there not quite sure what to
do next. Then he would spot Buttons. Ah, a more likely target!
He would rush up to her, legs like india-rubber. Buttons was
rather more welcoming and obviously, quite early, took a
decision that this must be her puppy. She took charge of him
and guided him off to her basket where he sat and nuzzled her.
The living-room now, when all three were there together
with Kerensa, presented a bizarre sight. Kerensa, perhaps,
would be surveying the world from her potty, surrounded by
wall-to-wall chocolate Labradors!
A lovely relationship grew up first between Bracken and
Buttons, and then, as she got used to him, a different but
equally lovely relationship was apparent between Bracken and
Emma. By the time our fortnight's 'trial' was over it was certain
I49
that Bracken was a permanent addition to the family, and I was
so relieved and happy when I felt the moment had come to ring
and tell Mrs Hall that all was well.
Bracken was such an intelligent puppy. By the time he was
eight weeks old, he was not only house-trained, but was learning
to sit and to come when you called him. It was obvious that he
would not be long in being able to respond to the basic commands,
and Derek Freeman's prophecy that he would be easy
to train was proving right. He was one of those puppies that it
is a pleasure to own, and with every day Emma became more
interested in him. I felt very soon, in fact, that despite the early
apparent indifference on Emma's part, she and Bracken were
very close. It is very difficult to describe, but I felt-and the
in,,pression has grown since-that Bracken had some sort of
connection with Emma. It was an elusive sort of notion that
somehow came to me out of Bracken's activities and the way
that Emma began to play with him even more than she did
with Buttons. At the same time it was evident that Bracken had
a deep respect for Emma.
Emma continues to sleep in our bedroom as she has always
done, with her bed at the foot of ours. Buttons and Bracken
had their baskets in the kitchen. But from very early days with
Bracken, the mornings were enlivened by a new and quite
delightful ritual, with a daily never-failing sight that Don and
I still think so lovely. As I am cooking the breakfast, Emma
comes downstairs and puts her nose round the kitchen door,
and thi
s is the signal for Bracken and Buttons to do homage to
her. Bracken is always first, Buttons following him. Bracken
rushes up to Emma and washes her face with sheer delight at
seeing her. He barks with excitement and whines with joy as
he rushes, slipping on the lino, to tell her how much he has
missed her. Emma is pleased to see him, too. She stands there
in the corner of the kitchen, wagging her tail quietly as she
allows him to lick her face. Then, suddenly, that's that. She lets
out one sharp-but not angry-bark that indicates: 'That's
enough, young man, that's enough!' Bracken leaps back, always
astonished, flattens himself to the floor, and looks at her with an
adoration that suggests he would happily steal the Crown
jewels just for her. Buttons is a little bit more ladylike, but
I50
she too cannot resist making a big fuss of Emma, although
in a quieter manner. She sniffs affectionately and wags her
tail while Bracken is bridling his exuberance, still barking
and wagging his tail but not daring to do otherwise because
from those earliest days he knew that Emma's word is canine
law.
The special something that I felt in connection with Bracken
and Emma came out in all Bracken's deeds. He had been in the
garden one morning and when he came in he brought with
him a rose-bush, roots, soil and all, but with his soft retriever's
mouth apparently quite untouched and unharmed by thorns.
'Bracken!' I exclaimed, 'where did you get that from?' He
wagged his tail happily, growled and started to chew this
marvellous prize.
I rushed out into the garden. There was an enormous hole,
and, strangely enough, Emma was sitting by it.
'Who did that?' I said to her. She looked up at me with great
innocence and then rather pointedly at Bracken as he came
charging out of the kitchen still with the rose-bush in his mouth,
looking like a small canine version of the bit in Macbeth where
they carry Birnam Wood about the stage. Emma continued to
look at him, and if her- paw could have been an accusing one
she would undoubtedly have pointed it.
'Well, he did it,' her look suggested. 'He did it, of course.'
'Yes, but who told him to?' I said.
Emma blinked at me and turned the other way. But although
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