My name is Rocky. I was born high in the Welsh hills. My father was Farmer Ray's poodle Boris. If you visited the farm, dad would greet you at the gates, and he would look you up and down to see if you were alright. He taught my brother Max and I everything you need to know about life in the country. Then I came to live with Mina and her family in Cambridge, and all in all I think life here is swell.
I have lots of jobs around the house. I am the family guard, and if anyone comes to the door, I look them up and down just like I was taught. If they're mean they better watch out. If they're kind, well, they can have snuggles. My big brother does not like to wash his face, so every morning I have to clean it with kisses. After breakfast I sit with my sister on the sofa during cello practice to count time for her. I have to attend lots of meetings with Mina; after all, I am her right hand man, and so I have a special seat beside her in the boardroom. Funny, she also sleeps there...
Every day, I patrol the floorboards for rats; if they're underneath I scare them out and I hunt them down. Once, I drowned a big one. I caught a crow last year, and we had to sprint home when its brothers started to dive bomb us. Then I learnt to track hare, they're fast but if you stick with them, you can drive them into the hedgerow and finish them off. Where we live you can find muntjac. They're fun to chase, but I never mean them any harm. I once found a trapped one and I helped save it. I like other sports too. Fetch is fun but I still can't catch a ball in my mouth, I've climbed a munro in Scotland, I'm happy to challenge a whippet to a sprint or an alsatian to spar. I don't usually win, but I've never once shamed my family name!
I am quiet, kind, but I am a proud cockapoo and for good reason. I know many tricks like roll over, shake paw, hide and seek, naming toys, sniffing out hidden snacks, and even playing piano. I don't have an achilles heel, but some say I do have an achilles tummy. I just love bread, meat, smelly fish and cheese, and more than anything, peanut butter. If you leave some lying around, I apologise in advance, but I simply won't resist.
