by Jay Ferguson Clarke

Created on: November 07, 2008

At a very low time in my life, I found Timi. He was in a Dogs Trust home. As soon as I saw him, I fell in love. He was sitting on his own, in his own cage, away from the other dogs. He was so cute with his little white fur, brown ears and liver coloured nose a little Parson's Terrier. He was exactly like the image I had in my head of the dog I would have. He was resigned to his condition, reserved, vacant, his little eyes glazed over. The attendant let him out, warning me that he wasn't good with other dogs. Whilst the dogs he passed in the other cage ran and whooped and yelped, Timi marched on past quietly. I just couldn't believe that they were saying he wasn't good with other dogs.

We walked along a leafy lane together, the sun breaking through the trees. We stopped, looked into each other's eyes. I told him Don't worry, you're coming home with me, I'll take care of you forever'. For a single moment his eyes cleared and there was a hint of recognition.

The attendants at the Centre said I could take him away immediately and they wouldn't need to come to my home which is the usual procedure.

That same day, I got him his little furry bed and lots of accoutrements. As I let him out in his own garden after a good bath, he started to come alive, rolling and tossing on the lawn. If we had visitors, he would race around the living room, climbing the sofas, walls and electric wires with fear. He hated men and boys. Typical, I thought, as I was looking for a suitable husband and children at the time. Two weeks later, he uttered his first tiny squeak when someone came to the front door.

I nursed him, kissed him, cuddled him, I became his one and only'. I was as desperate for love as he was. People kept trying to tell me he was a dog', not a baby. To me, he was my baby and I treated him as such. I read him stories at night, he crawled into my bed and snuggled into me and I kissed his little head.

Through time, he became more accepting of people and started to play with my gentle little nieces and nephews. It was amazing, he even started to go near men.

One problem was other dogs. After a couple of attacks from large dogs at the beach, he became aggressive to every other furry creature that walked. I became very dismayed. People blamed me they said I was babying him too much and that he was just protecting me. On the lead, he was psycho dog. Off the lead, he would skip around happily until another dog came near me and then he would attack.

I watched the Dog Whisperer religiously,

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