A little Scrumpy has landed!!

And here she is – our very own mini Springer Spaniel, Miss Scrumpy Dogular Hawkes.

In the first two days alone I have learned:

– Even a tiny Springer can literally 'spring' – like a bloody mountain goat, upwards

– The concept of weeing and pooing outside is definitely still foreign, when it's so much drier in the kitchen

– And even a small puppy can crap – a lot

– A furry goose and a rope ball are very useful distractions

– Otherwise everything from the doormat edge strands, to the ankle ties on my three-quarter length trousers are enormously tempting for a pup

– Bathtime is not a tidy, dry affair. More water on me than on her.

– Garden herbs and marigolds are VERY tempting, and dragging lavender stems around the house is a great game

– Tiles are slippery, lots of fun watching her slither about as she circles the table for the tenth time

– Her little tail is as great a source of wonder as Mojo's is to her, although Mojo's is long enough to bite

– The stones in our garden mini border are great to suck on – but scary for Mum & Dad in case swallowed. Lots of 'NO Scrumpy' shouting to be heard across SW19.

– Puppies cry at night. Not sweetly or gently but bloody loudly, with barks, for hours. How any parent copes with the lack of sleep and the guilt of not going down to their offspring, I have no idea.

– Cat food and dog food are interchangeable – Mojo is trying to eat Scrumpy's food as its nice and big and its out longer, and Scrumpy like Mojo's food as it annoys Mojo and is next to the scratching post, with those amazing twirly rope balls…. WOOF

But best of all – Mojo is not terrified as we were dreading might be the case, and is using her ability to leap onto table tops and the fence with great disdain for Scrumpy. Who just wants to be her friiiiieeeeeend….

Anyway – here's a few pix of our first couple of days. Visitors welcome!