My name is: Minnie
I came from: Romania
Now I live in: Fulham
My favourite things are: Cuddles, playing with Birdie my sister from another mister, sitting on laps, having my tummy tickled, wrestling with toys, food and barking when the doorbell rings!

Minnie’s story

Minnie arrived on Halloween 2019. She had come over via an animal courier from Romania and the trip had taken a little over 3 days - she was handed over to us at 5am!

We had arranged a sleep-over for our other dog, Birdie, as we were advised to do this and it meant that Minnie could start to get acquainted with her surroundings without the distraction of another dog. She seemed settled when she arrived, she had some breakfast, peed on the mat, sniffed in the garden and played with Birdie’s toys.

Later that day my husband picked up Birdie and her and Minnie met in the park. On their first meeting Minnie growled at Birdie and was showing aggression towards other dogs around us. In the coming days this aggression became quite pronounced and this culminated with Minnie biting Birdie and drawing blood.

We were devastated. All our hopes of having two lovely dogs that got on and were social were dashed. This was our lowest point and we thought we may have to give Minnie up.  The aggression was horrible and we just felt that we couldn’t manage her issues.

But then we remembered what she had gone through and what a special dog she was - so we persevered.

We sought advice from Underdog who put us in contact with a Dog Therapist who specialised in rescue dogs, Chantelle. Chantelle was amazing, she introduced us to clicker training and helped us to understand that Minnie’s aggression was because of her nervousness around other dogs. Minnie took well to the clicker training but she was still very hostile to other dogs. Our walks were spent trying to avoid other dogs and when we did come across another pooch distracting Minnie with treats. We decided that we needed more support. 

Scott, who has Birdie when we go away, suggested that we try and integrate Minnie with his pack. He was happy to take Minnie in the two days a week and help socialise her with the other dogs, and so for about 6 weeks Minnie (and Birdie) would spend two days with Scott and his pack. We started to notice that she no longer growled every time she saw another dog and once we had established recall and she was ready to come off the lead she happily played with other dogs. The first time this happened was a very emotional moment - we had got there! It was a transformation; Minnie had always been loving and affectionate with people and children, BUT NOW SHE FINE WITH OTHER DOGS!

I cannot explain how relieved we were, it means we can go down to the park without worrying that she might come across another dog. She still growls sometimes but she knows her place in the doggie society. Her and Birdie are inseparable now. We are so glad we persevered and didn’t give up and we are so grateful for the help we received from Chantelle and Scott, but most of all we’re grateful to Underdog for giving us a wonderful Minnie.

This has not put us off having a rescue dog. You need to realise that they’ll be some hard yards but there are so many dogs out there that need a that loving home that you can give.

- Nikki