Dottie’s making a splash in Kent

Why did you adopt a Romanian rescue via EverMore?

We wanted to add another pup to our pack to give our Lab a buddy, but kept getting told by UK-focused rescues we couldn’t adopt without prior rescue experience. After more than a year on various orgs’ waitlists, we started to think that adopting a rescue just wouldn’t be possible. A friend who’d adopted from EverMore suggested we check them out, so we began to follow them on Facebook – and were moved by the story of Dottie & her surviving siblings being rescued by Alina.

How has your dog settled into life in the UK?

Dottie is a sprightly little cuddle bug who’s grown so much more confident in the year or so we’ve had her.

The first few months were hard for all of us, with Dottie learning how to be an inside dog (though she still parkours herself off the furniture with impressive agility at times and loves nothing more than a good roll in the bark outside!). We quickly realised on her arrival that no puppy gate was a match for her ability to jump 5-6 feet from a standstill and that the way we’d trained our Lab was not going to work for Dottie – so we had to adjust our techniques and got her enrolled in puppy training classes that she aced. Clever girl now has fantastic recall, sits, lays down and gives paw for treats.

She’s also now struck a good balance with our resident dog, Gypsie, who wasn’t initially super thrilled about Dottie’s arrival. Not least because Dottie was attempting to challenge her as alpha (big thanks to EverMore’s post-adoption team for all the advice on how to manage this). Now they’re pretty good pals and are constantly playing and wrestling.

Dottie still has some anxious moments – she doesn’t like men in high vis, busy areas, or, it turns out, loud music over a PA system (our attempt to visit an outdoor dog-friendly Christmas market did not go well once they started blaring carols!). She also still shakes like a leaf at the vets. But she has made such strides since her arrival. Dottie’s gone from being petrified of the TV, windows (her reflection), the sea – basically anything new she hadn’t been exposed to previously – to sleeping upside down by the TV in the lounge or seeing her reflection without a care, even splashing through waves at the beach and paddling. When she first arrived she would bark at other dogs on walks, unsure how to behave or who was a threat; now she’s a social butterfly and her very favourite thing is to run, chase and play with other dogs at the beach.

She continues to learn – we’re still working on her barking at visitors, for example. But she certainly seems settled and is part of the family we couldn’t imagine being without.

What would be your dog’s idea of a perfect day?

Dottie’s perfect day starts with waking everyone up with kisses and nose-nips – then she’ll use her paw to nudge us to indicate she’d like some fuss, ideally a tummy rub with simultaneous scratching behind the ears. She’d play with her Benebone fish or another hard chew toy while something delicious for breakfast is prepared. If it’s a really great day, she’d have her regular Butternut Box breakfast and THEN some scrambled eggs on top! Then a snooze to digest before heading off to the beach to run at top speed off-lead with local pals and splash in the sea. Then delicious treats, maybe a carrot or special filled bone, followed by naps in the sun outside and a chase ’round the garden with Gypsie. Maybe an afternoon walk on the promenade overlooking the English Channel for lots of sniffs and a few cheeky nibbles on long grass (without being told to ‘leave it’!). Dinner – on a really perfect, super special day – would be roasted white fish or grilled steak with steamed veg. She’d finish the day with lots of cuddles on the sofa interrupted occasionally by barking madly at the pesky squirrels, foxes and badger who also call our garden home.