Our names are: Aliyah and Trina
We came from: Cyprus
Now we live in: Hampshire
Aliyah’s favourite things are: Cuddles, hide and seek treats, and humans
Trina’s favourite things are: Food and more food, cats and zoomies

Aliyah’s story

Happy gotcha day for us with Aliyah was 9^th October 2020! I read about Underdog International through a link on Facebook and was particularly touched by their story and mission. We had a particular criteria and it wasn’t a puppy! Reading through the stories of the dogs up for adoption I could not help but be drawn to Aliyah’s sad story.
Aliyah is a Greek Harehound and most likely was kept for breeding (she has obviously had a number of litters) or discarded as a “no longer required hunting dog”. She’d been rescued off the street in Cyprus in April 2020, looking poorly and very underweight (just 11.2kg). She was so thin that they didn’t realise she was pregnant. Sadly, testing positive for Leishmania, Ehrlichia and Anaplasmosis, she lost the pup that they hadn’t realised she was carrying. The team acted quickly to get her placed in a foster home away from the dog pound as she was giving up on life.
Before making our final decision to adopt Aliyah, my husband and I discussed with our vet and read up on the parasitic disease, Leishmania, particularly referring to the Living with Leish Facebook group which is amazing. We wanted to be sure we knew the responsibilities we were taking on. After all she’d been through and to survive until the age of nine, we decided we couldn’t pass by the opportunity to give her a second chance at life!

Underdog made the adoption process so easy and straightforward, keeping in touch every step of the way. The video call interview from Leanne, one of the volunteers pre-adoption team, was reassuring as well. Although they were obviously keen to encourage the adoption they took great care to ensure we were the right family for Aliyah. We’d never adopted before and not only that, Aliyah was coming from overseas!

Once the adoption was finalised and after a very smooth and well organised journey Aliyah arrived in the UK. Once at home, she was understandably very quiet and reserved so we followed the advice given and gave her a dog crate in the kitchen and made sure she knew it was her “safe place” to go if she felt the need. I think it took less than a week before she ditched the dog crate and found our bed!

It also took four days before she would drink! She ate when coaxed but refused to drink! I contacted Eve from the Underdog for advice as I was naturally worried about her. The advice was to add water to her food and to let her decide when she was ready which she eventually did! Even today if her routine is disturbed or she is stressed about something she has to be coaxed to eat and always eats best when left alone. It’s always like we have to give her permission to eat before she feels safe to do so. It's sad as you wonder what must have happened to her in the past to make her feel like this but we are doing our very best to help her over come this.

Initially Aliyah was very reserved and nervous around my husband. It took nearly eight months before she would walk alone with him. During this time, my husband would always offer a walk but Aliyah would slink off to her bed. I think in the end she cottoned on to the fact that if I wasn’t around then the only way she would get a walk was to go out with him. So just like that, one day she took us all by surprise and just upped and went out with him! All it took was patience on our part until she was ready.

Whilst out walking loud bangs and even walking on manhole covers on the pavement would spook her but over a period of time and with reassurance, she has grown to accept the different sounds her new home presents.
True to her word as Eve said, Aliyah is the sweetest, kindest soul you would want to meet! I reckon she would make a great therapy dog as she is so calm and loving. She loves playing search the treat games in the house and it is lovely to see her get so excited, wagging her tail furiously and smiling.

Although, 18 months since having her, when you stroke her, she still can’t bring herself to wag her tail and keeps it firmly between her back legs. However, we do know she is happy to be stroked and fussed over as she is always the one jumping up and placing her front legs on you and staying fixed in that position for love and attention! One day, you never know she might wag that tail when being stroked!

From day one she settled into our home and it wasn’t long before she would walk with us off lead in the forest! She loves to say hello to every dog and stands rigid whenever I try and walk by another dog without a hello from her! She loves to go for a ride in the car but is like the Queen of Sheba when we open the boot and expects to be lifted up and down into the boot! Honestly, she appears so regal sometimes, you’d think she was royalty!

Our sadly departed Old English Sheepdog had a few issues with other dogs but I think being in the dog pound and on the streets has made Aliyah more sociable and knowledgeable about dog etiquette. It’s a pleasure to walk down the street or go to the park and know there will be no difficult dog encounters!

I can honestly say adopting an Underdog is one of the best feelings! There are so many lovely dogs out there just waiting to be given a second chance just like Aliyah! In fact the experience has been so rewarding that in October 2021 exactly a year after adopting Aliyah, we adopted Trina!

Trina’s story

We contacted Eve at Underdog to say we were looking to adopt a second dog from Cyprus. Knowing Aliyah so well, Eve perfectly matched Trina with our Aliyah. Trina’s circumstances were different than Aliyah’s as she came from a broken home. She was given up to the dog pound and was struggling to cope with such a drastic life change. She was nearly three years old when we got her and has settled in amazingly well. We’d never had two dogs before so were cautious how they would adapt but from day one we’ve honestly had no problems!

Trina is the most characteristic dog I have ever met! She loves other dogs and cats and does regular zoomies going round and round on the spot when she meets another playful dog. We can’t let her off lead at the moment as she is a bit crazy and seems to be scent driven by squirrels, but its work in progress and still early days.
It helped so much with Eve knowing both dogs before we adopted them. We trusted in her knowledge and expertise and were not disappointed! We really do feel very supported by Underdog International and know there is always somebody available if a problem should arise either now or in the future.

- Anita & Clive