The other man in my life...

No don't worry I'm not 'that' sort of girl I am merely referring to our furry companion and rather cheeky boy, Murphy. 

He is a three year old (apparently but judging from all of those grey hairs, frequent naps and his general laziness I would say he is more like thirty) Staffordshire Bull Terrier who we rescued from a shelter in Northamptonshire back in November. 

Richard and I adore animals, particularly dogs. As a child I had a lovely Alsatian called Sable who was quite the companion and put up with a fair bit I would say, what with having three children chasing her about the joint when all she really wanted was the free food.

Richard and I frequently used to dog-sit for his Dad and his partner who had a cuddly chocolate Labrador called Osca and an excitable Spaniel called Daisy. We thoroughly enjoyed looking after them while their owners were on holiday and they were great company and were the butt of many jokes. 

However whenever they returned home we found that our own home became quite lonely and empty and we began innocently trawling through websites and looking at all the adorable dogs that would be on them. Little did we know that this would lead us to find Murphy and he would later become ours...

This is the picture that won our hearts. Let's be honest, how couldn't it? After emailing his carer back and forth we arranged to visit him. We were very excited and by the sounds of it everyone there was very happy to meet us and hoped that we could give him the home he deserved. It turned out Murphy was a bit of a popular lad with the shelter and everyone had a soft spot for him. By the end of the day we did too. As soon as we met him we were all gooey eyed and turned into a pair of softies. We shared a lovely walk with him and immediately we could tell why so many people had fallen in love with him at the shelter- he was an affectionate little boy who loved nothing more than to give you lots of kisses. We were sold on him immediately and made arrangements to have a home visit and couldn't resist picking up some goodies for him on the way home (which little did we know would be later eaten by Murphy).

One successful home visit and a couple of weeks later we were on our way to collect Murphy from the shelter. The poor little pup seemed very confused as he left on his usual daily walk only then to be popped into the back of my car and driven miles. Safe to say he made his opinions on the matter very clear- screaming so loudly in the boot that even the sat nav was drowned out, jumping around so much it was like we were at a rave and cheekily chewing my seatbelts something only I would discover months later at my MOT...

However as soon as Murphy made it through the front door it was clear he thought he had won the jackpot. He spent a long time racing around the house and checking out all it had to offer, but not before he decided to take a whizz on Richard's new rugby boot bag. Naughty Smurf. 

Since then it is safe to say he has made himself very much at home and entertains us no end. He is a dog of leisure, enjoying nothing more than a good old snooze (complete with a lot of snoring) and a nice belly rub. He also has found a taste for sausages which he likes to eat very politely off of the end of a fork. He is also very keen to learn and understands the commands now for sit, stay, paw and lay (although the latter needs a lot of persuasion and he expects food after each one of these). 

Not only do we believe Murphy to be a lot older than was said we also think he was a fighting dog before being taken to the shelter, which makes us feel even better for adopting him. He has many scars, a bad back leg and even a tooth missing. It would also explain his aggressive attitude towards other dogs and his reflexes towards sudden movements and actions. That being said he is learning every day how to be a better dog and seems to be enjoying his new lifestyle much more than his previous one. 

We are just grateful for the companionship, cuddles and many many laughs he has given us.

To support shelters such as the one Murphy was in or to adopt a dog like him please visit: www.animals-in-need.org/