We couldn’t be more excited about the arrival of our new puppy. Obviously we can’t wait to get our hands on her little fluffy body, but the prospect of going out and buying all the necessaties is also pretty exciting. Exciting, interesting and downright mind boggling. It will also, I am now beginning to realise, be an exercise in extreme self control!

Apart from the obvious practical items such as a bed, food bowls and so on, there’s a baffling and tempting array of items we could buy… but perhaps shouldn’t! Obviously I want everything – she’s our new baby – and who doesn’t like to shop? Oh wait! Both my sons and my husband hate shopping. It’s all up to me then! Yay!

As I browse the puppy shelves in our local pet store, I keep hoping someone will come – not least because I just want to shout to the world we are getting a puppy. It was with great reluctance I put back the pink diamante collar and lead I had chosen – first because it was ludicrously expensive and secondly because I anticipate the flat refusal of Dylan (17) and Noah (14) to walk the dog sporting bright pink bling, no matter how gorgeous I think she looks! Fair! Likewise the pink puffa coat went back on the shelf.. sigh.

“I just want to shout to the world we are getting a puppy.”

I do, however, get a bright pink shiny dog tag for her collar with our surname, phone number engraved on one side and the fact that she is micro-chipped on the other. The shop assistant helpfully stops me from putting her name on there too – apparently it makes them easier to steal, which makes sense.

Next stop, toy shelf! Wow! Most of these toys are better than those my kids had as toddlers! And I suspect many will be as readily ignored! Still, she’s really going to need that squeaky donut and you can’t go wrong with a few balls either. Someone once told me puppies like to have a soft toy to cuddle. I remember snorting with disbelief at the time, but I now find myself fondling a particularly soft and cuddly bear. Just in time I remind myself of the number of once previously loved and now discarded soft toys we have gathering dust at home and put it back. I am soooooo strong!

And so with a basket full of goodies – food, snacks, chews, balls, toys, collar, lead, bed and the rest – I make my way to the checkout and try to ignore the groaning of my credit card as I cough up the best part of £150! And I have no doubt, in the words of the great Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll be back!”