William

Certain details have been changed to protect anonymity

The lady arrived with her crossbreed puppy called William and her requirements were fairly standard. A well-behaved dog plus a minor problem with house training or as she called it potty training. William had been found wandering in woods near what had been a traveller site and when enquires failed to find an owner he was despatched to a rescue society. He was a quick learner and whilst he was with me his owner casually asked how big William would grow.

Now, this is always fraught with risk, a dog of unknown lineage and the owner wants an opinion. The obvious question of what did the vet say elicited a response of; he was non-committal.

Well, I have always taken the view that if asked a question then if it is possible a response is called for.

I gave the matter some thought and told my client that in my opinion, he would be large, probably the size of a German Shepherd Dog.

Nothing remarkable or particularly memorable about William or his owner but for me another job done and a satisfied client.

About three years later I am about to step into a locally well-known cafe that did a mug of tea and a bacon butty at a bargain price and walking towards me was my client who had posed the question “How big will grow”?

Plodding alongside was a creature that at first glance had the appearance of a mountain lion crossed with a donkey. Huge didn’t even begin to describe this dog. The lady recognised me, smiled and uttered the immortal words. “I think you said he would be Shepherd size”

From her smile and the twinkle in her eye, I realised that she bore me no ill will.

It transpired that William just never stopped growing but I was heartened by her comment of “Am I glad I brought him to you early, can you imagine what would have happened if I didn’t have him under control?”

With close inspection, I reckon William now looked like a cross between a Great Dane and a St Bernard, maybe somewhere was a touch of Mastiff. Fortunately, he was a gentle placid dog with soft benign eyes who happily drifted through life with a carefree attitude. He was just as happy sleeping as he was going for a walk. He asked for nothing other than his dinner and a comfy bed.

As for me, from that day on whenever I am asked to predict a puppy’s eventual size I dutifully give an answer. However, I always add; “Well there was once this dog called William”….