We had a gorgeous cocker spaniel called Cindy

I loved the bones of her

There wasn’t a growl in her

So it was decided that Cindy would have babies

She would be a lovely mum

So of she went for a visit

I wasn’t told the details back then

It worked Cindy was in pup

Oh the excitement

I couldn’t wait

A puppy to play with

Well, Cindy had a surpise

I couldn’t believe my eyes

Cindy had eight bundles of joy

Seven girls, one boy

I was in awe

Where had they all been?

They were so cute

Some black and white just like their mum

and some a lovely rich sandy colour

They seemed healthy in every way

Kennel Club had done its job

and kept intact Cindy’s pedigree

Or so we thought

Those little puppies grew in stature

and were viewed with rapture

They waddled and toddled

and clumsily fell over their huge ears

We all thought this was adorable

They were sold and given homes

and I sobbed over everyone

“Can’t we just keep one?”

Well over a period of about a month

The phone calls and complaints started coming

And the puppies were returned one by one

See what we thought was adorable

Was a problem

All of the little puppies were totally blind

They were brought to the vet who advised they be put to sleep

My parents tried to stop me

But I insisted I made that visit with every one

I wanted to hold them in their last moments

and say goodbye

I can’t remember being traumatised

But I was told I was

One puppy came back

we always kept them for a day or two,

Before that dreaded trip to the vet

It was the only boy

His owners had called him Otis

We were making that horrible trip

When we got a phone call

his owner had got a call from his vet and been

told that Otis was only blind in one eye

and had some hope of a happy life

he told us that his kids had fallen in love

and hadn’t stopped crying since the day he came back

We gave him back his money,  and Otis

I still sobbed when he left but tears of joy

One of Cindy’s babies was ok

And lived to see another day

We investigated down the line

Cindy had visited some relation of her Grandfathers

And that was were the problem lay

I still miss her and her babies today