Rotty Coral - Will the chair fit in the shed?! (click to enlarge).

She was a rescue bitch at 14 months. A big dog, she stood 43" at her shoulders.

I rescued her from a breeder who beat her to make her vicious. He had some scary folk buying his pups! Unfortunately it had the opposite effect. She was very head shy and if you stamped your feet at her she would fall on her back bearing her underbelly and yelp and squeal.

The kennel owner had had her in a small dog pen, 10 foot by 3 foot. She had never been for a walk or felt grass under her paws. She didn't know what it was like to play with toys and the first time I gave her a dog biscuit she didn't know what to do with it.

The first time I took her for a walk, a bus passed us, she got such a fright she nearly pulled my arm out of the socket and took off! It took me 4 hours to find her. She was so terrified, it was another week before she let me put the lead on her and gently walk her round the garden. After that we would walk her at 6 m to shelter her from traffic and people.

We lived on the beach and the first time she saw the sea, she got such a fright. It was funny to see this huge “devil dog” dig and bite at the water, trying to work out why she couldn't pick it up! One wave came at her all white on top with a whoosh, she got another fright and took off, again! After that, she was walked on a 40 foot long nylon lead rope.

She was a gentle giant but afraid of her shadow. I didn't want to have her stressed, so she kept to her early morning and sometimes very late at night walks along the beach, she never could work out water! I had a little x-bred poodle type who was Corals best pal, they would curl up on their chair together, unfortunately for the wee dog, Coral liked to sit on her! The wee one would fall off the chair, when Coral got off her; she looked like she could do with good ironing!

The day after I came home from my honeymoon, Coral was limping so bad I took her into work with me (the veterinary surgery) to have her leg x-rayed. I read the x-ray before my vet came in and saw that the cancer had spread up to her shoulder. She was euthanased in the garden on a bright sunny day and her ashes are part of my Mums garden with her other 2 canine pals.

This picture (above) is what made me interested in canine behaviour and if we treat 2 dogs the same way why do they behave differently?

My big gentle giant I miss you, and the cuddles you seemed to have no end of.

So tell me about your puppyhood, and by the way the chair is much too small for you!

BEV TRUSS