Mia and Bluebell's Story by Toni

One of our lovely adopters shares her advice, based upon her experience of adopting two pups from Dogs Walk This Way Rescue. If you would like to share your adoption story, email us 

My partner and I, together with our two children, live on a farm as my partner is a farmer. When we first met, I had a dog and he had two, we both also always had dogs in our families growing up. We unfortunately, over time, lost our three dogs due to old age losing the last one Christmas Eve 2018, which was heart-breaking. We discussed getting another dog but said we would wait until after our wedding in October 2019. 
 
I knew of Dogs Walk This Way Rescue as I know Rachael through the horsey world, plus a few of my friends had adopted dogs from the rescue before. 
 
We hadn’t really planned to adopt, as such, when we discussed getting another dog but when one day I was looking through Facebook and one of the Dogs Walk This Way post popped up with some beautiful puppies who needed a home and I fell in love!

Here they are when they first arrived in the UK

Mia

Bluebell

​I originally went to meet Bluebell, but when speaking to Caz, one of the volunteers, she explained that Bluebell was very scared and the Dogs Walk This Way Rescue team were not sure how she would be with the children etc. When we arrived, we could see that Bluebell was very timid and scared but she had a sister who was a little braver. We sat on the floor and spent some time with the puppies, and after seeing how much confidence over that short period Blue took from her sister my partner and I  decided we couldn’t split these sisters up so we said yes to Mia and Bluebell and adopted both of them!
 
Once Blue was picked up and handed to my partner, she melted into his arms, and you could see the pain and fear melt away. Mia unfortunately got very scared when we tried to put the lead on her so we knew that we would need to have lots of patience and love to help them. I knew at this point these girls were going to be my babies and between all of us we would help these girls blossom and love life again. 

Settling the girls in

​We knew once we got home we needed to get straight to work so I went and brought harnesses as both hated having a slip lead or having the lead attached to a collar. We bought lovely beds, toys, treats, and really spoiled them.  I then spent around two weeks taking them in the garden every 15-30 mins on their harnesses for a wee and just generally bonding and letting them get used to the lead, this may seem like a long process to some people, but I knew the end result would be amazing. We would all just sit on the kitchen floor for hours with them letting them come to us when they felt ready, which didn’t take long and they started loving their cuddles began to really let down their guard. 

Look at them now!

A sign of a totally relaxed dog

​They have grown from strength and strength and now enjoy all the lovely walks we do, and their recall is coming along really well. They have mastered commands (sit paw etc) and have such great personalities. They are both so very different as well. Blue is a complete nutter (in a good way) which I love because she was my most timid. She loves people and can jump from 3 feet to get on your lap in one jump. Mia is my sensitive one, she loves to please and loves learning new things and loves using her brain. They are such a double act and really have the most amazing bond and we are so happy they got to stay together! 
 
The best thing about adopting my Mia and Bluebell is seeing the change in them. They were both so scared, when I first met them, especially Blue.    Seeing their personalities come through has been amazing. 

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Advice for anyone thinking about adopting

​Adopting wasn't something I had put much thought into before I adopted Blue and Mia, but now I’m so grateful to have my girls and so glad I could help and save them. A lot of people like the idea of a cute puppy but they grow up then people decide they don’t want them anymore.  By adopting you’re giving that dog a chance and the love and laughs they give you in return is priceless. 
 
My advice when adopting from a rescue or shelter would be to really think it through, have patience and make sure

• you are ready for any challenges which may arise
• you have the funds to support the dog in any way needed
• you speak to the people who are with the dogs every day to make sure you’re the right family for them and they are the right dog for you.

It can be hard work but the rewards for me outweigh it all! 
 
Our girls really are the centre of our family and we are so glad they gave us the chance to give them the life they deserve! 
 
Toni and the Beach family