The pet I’ll never forget: Punky the puggle was a sulky wrecking ball. His chaos kept me grounded

Amber and Punky … ‘I’d often cry on my bedroom floor and he would pull me back to the present’ Photograph: Supplied image

A week after my mum left my dad, we travelled more than 100 miles from the outskirts of London to collect Punky from a farm in Derbyshire.

It was late summer 2006 and I was about to turn 16. This was a time of Juicy Couture tracksuits, The Simple Life on TV, hot pink flip phones and designer dog breeds.