The pet I’ll never forget: Ella the puppy threw up on me, snubbed me and after 10 years decided to love me

Mum, Dad, my brother Michael: everyone in the family got more affection from our ridgeback-staffie cross. And guess whose bed she used to poo on…

I think the tone was set when Ella threw up over me on the way back from the Dogs Trust. She was three months old, rolling around on the back seat between me and my twin brother, Michael (we’d just turned seven), and wasn’t enjoying her first trip in a car. She could have been sick anywhere – over the seat, over the floor – but for some reason she decided to climb on to me first.

It was the start of a beautiful but strangely one-sided friendship. Ella, a ridgeback-staffie cross, was the perfect dog: playful, energetic, naughty and tolerant. She would let us poke and prod her without complaint, turn her ears inside-out or dress her up in T-shirts or the thick woollen poncho my Greek Cypriot grandma knitted her for the British winter. And she was endlessly loving, at least to the other members of the family. Me? Too often it was as if I didn’t exist. If Michael and I were sitting on the sofa, she’d bound up to him. If I came home after a day out with my dad, he was the one she’d jump at. If I tried to take her for a walk by myself, she’d drag her feet and insist that I fetch my brother.

To add insult to injury, about once a year she would do a poo in the house. Not just anywhere, though: she’d climb the stairs to my room and leave it in a neat pile on top of my bed.

I can’t pretend I wasn’t offended by Ella’s attitude – I loved her just as much as anyone. But it took me a while to realise that in her eyes we were both bitches fighting for our place in the pack. I read that dogs are 98.8% wolf, even yappy little chihuahuas. Ella was a definite she-wolf and my mother (she who opened the tin of dog food every night) was the undisputed alpha female. Ella could handle that fact, but she didn’t want to be the omega female. That was me.

Working out the reasons for Ella’s lack of sisterhood, understanding that her indifference was atavistic and not just casual, didn’t make me any less jealous of my brother, who always took great pleasure in the fact that Ella seemed to prefer him. But I resigned myself to the situation. And then one day (happy ending, anyone?) everything changed. I must have been 16 or 17, we’d been away for a fortnight in France, and when we got back it was me she ran up to first, whining and twisting with pleasure at seeing me again. After that it was like all those years of competition had never happened. We were best friends for ever, or at least for the couple of years she had left. Ella finally loved me.

A compassionate dog mom, who delivered her puppies on the street, was rescued along with her precious pups just in the nick of time

She didn’t choose the life of the streets; someone had abandoned her earlier. However, when the realization of impending motherhood struck, there was no escaping the harsh reality of the streets. She had no time to find shelter; her babies were coming, and she summoned every ounce of strength to bring them into the world.

Heartbroken, exhausted, teetering on the brink…

This forsaken dog mother exhibited both fragility and incredible strength, a testament to the resilience that all mothers carry within them.

Will her story have a happy ending? Could this suffering lead to something better for once?

Kudos, Momma! The Puppies Have Arrived
The sight of a vulnerable, freshly birthed dog mother lying beside her newborns tore at my heartstrings. The image was a desperate plea for assistance.

This poor dog mother was utterly drained of strength.

How could she be strong when she had been broken in so many ways?

According to her collar, her previous owners had discarded her, likely because she was pregnant. Deprived of proper sustenance, water, or shelter, this gentle soul roamed the streets, searching for a safe place to give birth.

Yet, sometimes, plans simply remain as plans. Labor took her by surprise, forcing her to deliver right there on the street, on a humble piece of cardboard.

Six puppies entered this world that day, though tragically, two of them were angels from the start.

Despite her extreme exhaustion, as soon as she noticed people approaching, the mother summoned the last reserves of her strength and rose to her feet. She had to protect her precious offspring.

Unaware that these people were t here to help her, she went into full defensive mode, acting aggressively to shield her babies. It seemed as though she didn’t realize that there were good-hearted people in the world, and not everyone meant harm.

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The rescue team faced three fierce encounters with the mother before they finally succeeded in capturing her, along with her little ones, and relocating them to safety.

Back at the shelter, the rescuers were relieved to find that the mother had enough milk to nourish her puppies. Now, it was time to nourish the mother herself.

She was ravenous, beyond exhaustion, and yearning for a proper meal.

That day, the mother was fed three times, a stark contrast to the typical one or two daily meals for dogs. She devoured approximately 5 pounds of liver in her first two meals, a testament to her hunger.

After the critical first 48 hours, the puppies began to thrive, growing, opening their eyes, and experiencing the joys of puppyhood.

The mother, though still somewhat traumatized and apprehensive around humans, was making progress. Sooner or later, she would learn to trust people again.

Without the kindness of these compassionate individuals, dog lovers, and dedicated rescuers, the mother and her puppies would have faced starvation.

After all the trials in her young life, the mother was finally granted the life she had always deserved.

We may not be able to save all stray dogs or solve every problem, but at the very least, we can spare a few dollars to feed the dogs on our streets. If everyone were to pitch in, the number of stray dogs in need could be significantly reduced.

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