Apparently I am Mum’s hero (shouldn’t that be heroine?). We were out charging through the forest on New Years Eve when Mum & I suddenly noticed that Tee Wee has disappeared. We shouted & whistled for her but nothing. I could tell Mum was starting to worry so I thought I’d better take charge. I tracked back to where I’d last see her and followed her scent (did you know that a dog’s sense of smell is a thousand times more powerful than a human’s).

Anyway I traced that little mutt to a set of holes in a dip in the forest. I carefully sniffed each one until I was sure which one she had gone down & then set about attracting Mum’s attention by barking frantically & digging like a JCB. Mum rushed over and threw herself on the ground (a bit dramatic I thought!) and stuck her head down the hole. She did look funny but I realized that I’d better not start acting the clown too. Mum was shouting for Tee Wee and even stuck her arm down the hole but there was no sign of the naughty little hound.

Mum was really starting to panic & I must admit that I was beginning to get a bit worried too (I pretend that I just tolerate the little horror but I do rely on her a lot really). Then Mum grabbed a handy branch & stuck it down the burrow, waggling it about but still no sign of Tinks. Mum’s voice started to waver as she kept shouting. I thought she was going to cry so I joined in and barked desperately.

Suddenly Tee Wee appeared at the mouth of the den & she emerged looking grubby but unrepentant. She was all yellow from goodness knows what and her paws were very muddy. Mum grabbed her and hugged her like she’d been gone for a week (it was only about 20 minutes actually) and I must admit I was very glad to see her too really. Mum slipped her lead on & we carried on with our walk.

We’d gone about 100 yards (us spotty dogs REFUSE to go metric!) when Mum gasped & began examining Tee Wee. I noticed that she was squinting at me & had rather a lot of red stuff under her chin. Then all hell broke loose! Mum was picking Tinks up, making a phone call & running back towards the car all at the same time. I thought I had better go too even though we hadn’t gone nearly far enough for a proper walk. We hurtled back to the car and Mum let Tee Wee stay on her lap rather than making her come in the back with me. That’s when I knew it was serious!

Anyway we drove like Lewis Hamilton (but never over the speed limit, of course) but I couldn’t make out where we were going. At first I reckoned it must be a real emergency but then we stopped for diesel! (Mum is always running low at just the wrong time). Then we were off again! Eventually we arrived at my least favourite place in the world - the Vets!! I sat down very quietly and made myself as small as possible but thankfully it wasn’t my turn this time.

Mum whisked Tee Wee in & I thought “this isn’t good but at least it’s not me in trouble this time!”. They weren’t gone long. Tinks looked very small in Mum’s arms, with her ears all down and she was doing that thing where she looks like someone has let all the air out of her. We drove home much more slowly than we went. On the way home Mum kept telling me what a good dog I was & how I had saved Tinker’s life. I couldn’t make it out but it was much better than being told how naughty I am. So I just sat in the back of the car & looked smug.

When we got home Mum got some hot water & poured in the stuff she put on my paw when I cut it & started to clean the red stuff off Tee Wee’s front. She then wrapped her up in a blanket & put on MY sofa. Cheek! I had been the good dog!

Mum went into the kitchen to get a calming cup of coffee (filthy stuff!) and I decided to find out just what Tinker had been up to. She looked very sheepish (well as much as a Jack Russell can) and told me that she had been drawn to the hole by a magical smell that was just irresistible. She only meant to take a closer sniff but had found that she could actually get right into the hole so she had gone a bit further. The tunnel had opened out into big chamber & that had several other tunnels leading off it. One of them had smelt particularly enticing so she had wriggled down it thinking she’d just have a little poke about. She said it was very dark but exciting (well she is a terrier & they have strange ideas about whats entertaining) so she pushed on.

Suddenly she realised she wasn’t alone, she could hear something ahead of her. This is the point when any sensible dog would have reversed as fast as their paws would take them but not our very own Mini Rambo. She scrambled on and SUDDENLY there she was in a badger’s bedroom. Problem was the badger was in bed & NOT happy about his sleep being interrupted by a pint sized intruder.

Fortunately he was a slow old brock (so Tinker says dismissively) because he launched himself at her and grabbed her by the face. But she was too quick for him (I know she’s a nippy little bundle) & so she managed to jerk backwards as he attacked. Even so his canine teeth made contact with her, puncturing her above her left eye & under her right jaw. For once in her life she decided that discretion IS the better part of valour (very 3 Muskateers) and managed to slip from his grasp & ran backwards as fast as she could. She made it back to the big chamber but couldn’t remember which tunnel she had come down. She could hear Brock lumbering down behind her & was just wondering whether to stand & fight when she heard Mum waggling the branch & me barking for her. She decided that we sounded so worried that she’d better leave the party & come back to us (very thoughtful!). So she popped out to put our minds at rest. However she’d forgotten about the teeth marks!

She reckons it was all no big deal but Mum keeps on about just how lucky she was & that she must NEVER EVER go down any hole EVER again. She says that if I hadn’t know which one Tee Wee had gone down we might never have found her (and she doesn’t even know exactly what did happen down there, she’d have a nervous breakdown!).

Tinker, however, is planning her revenge!

PS Mum also says we must NEVER tell Uncle Paul about this! I will explain who Uncle Paul is & why we must never tell him another day.