This poem was a Runner Up. No prize… but well done!

A dog’s Mum can be kind,
though sometimes very cruel.
Sometimes they nurse their pups to health,
sometimes not at all.

When the pup is born,
it must be licked clean
and freed of the all the gooey stuff,
to let the pup breathe.

For the first three weeks of life,
the young pup cannot see,
but when their eyes open up
they can be quite cheeky.

They toilet on the carpet,
rip up the rug,
run riot and knock off the table
your favourite china mug.

Spend weeks with their mother,
playing happily,
though soon come the days when
they are taken far far away.

New life is very strange
living a long way away,
though soon enough they are tough enough
to defend their territory.

They chase balls in the park,
make a few new friends,
though never will they forget
what their Mother did for them.