From a young age I remember always loving animals. But there was one in particular... a dog. I longed for a dog, but was always stuck with a goldfish.

I would sit for hours just imagining what this dog, my dog, would be like. I longed for a Jack Russell, as I was interested in agility. I loved their bold characters and handsomeness.

Finally, on my fourteenth birthday, my parents took me to a breeder to pick my dog. It was a dream come true for me, as four chubby puppies ran up to me.

But there was one that stood out from the rest, a runt of the litter, completely white with just a brown patch over one eye.

I took him home but after just three weeks things didn’t seem right - he slept all day, and if we woke him he would snap at us. He never made a noise, and would act as though we were not there. Then something hit me... he was deaf.

I brought him to the vets and it was confirmed. I was not allowed to keep him. My mother said I could get another dog. Even though I had not yet bonded with him it was upsetting letting him go, I felt so guilty.

Why was I giving my puppy away just because he was deaf? But I knew my parents were right, I had never had a dog before and I felt I didn’t have the experience to look after a deaf dog.

The next week I was to go back to get another Jack Russell, but when we arrived the women explained there were no more left. As I turned round to the door I saw through a glass window, a small room where another litter of puppies were kept,

They were Westies and as I went up closer I saw their bright eyes and pure white coats. There were about five of them but my heart was set on one. He was the bold one of the group, a scruffy, podgy eight-week-old pup. He came plodding up to the glass and I just had to take him home.

Benny is now six months old and is a funny, naughty little puppy, bursting with character. I am, in a strange way, glad I chose a Westie as it led me to Benny, I suppose it was meant to be!