My name is: Percy
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: Peckham, London
My favourite things are: Sofa and morning cuddles, parkour (running and jumping as much as possible), and chasing my best friends

Percy’s story

Percy started life with us as a “short term” foster. He is, of course, a foster fail! After his first weekend with us Percy already felt like part of our family. Fast forward two years and we cannot imagine our world without him in it. 

In June 2021 I was asked to foster Percy, a five month old puppy, so that he could travel to the UK (from Cyprus) with his three sisters. They each had homes already lined up, and the prospect of Percy being left behind without his siblings was not an option - it was an easy yes!

However, we live in London next to a busy road. Although Percy settled well into life with us in our apartment and garden, going outside for walks terrified him. He would refuse to leave the house, go to the toilet in the doorway due to anxiety and nearly choke himself pulling to get back home on walks. As much as we loved Percy, we knew that it would be unfair to keep him in the city unless we could calm his anxiety.

Eve was really helpful and gave us great tips to help desensitise Percy to his busy surroundings. We also worked with a wonderful behaviourist, Steve, who in his first session helped us to encourage Percy out of the house without his anxiety taking over. 

Once that first hurdle was over, we got into a routine with Percy’s walks and meeting other local dogs, and soon reached a stage where we knew Percy could adjust to London life. In the words of Percy’s behaviourist, he has “the heart of a shepherd” - even if Percy finds something daunting, he will push through his nerves. I cannot understate how valuable it was for us to work with a trusted professional - to address Percy’s anxieties and gain the confidence to know that we could help him. 

That doesn’t mean there was a magic fix. Percy will likely always carry some anxiety, particularly in crowds of people and around skateboards and…flies(!). He is not reactive though (other than nervous barking when the doorbell rings) and doesn’t make a scene when he is scared. Instead, we lookout for his tell-tale signs - excessive yawning or his hind legs shaking. We have treats and distractions at the ready to help calm him, and advocate for him when times get scary. Patience and kindness is absolutely key! 

Percy loves running around with his pals in the park (he is SO FAST!) and lives for walks in our local green spaces and woodlands - especially when there are fallen trees or other ‘obstacles’ for him to leap over. He is also a great “pub dog” and is never short of admirers telling us how beautiful and well behaved he is in the pub. Apparently Percy can sense that we are in our happy place there and relax with us! 

Percy has also been on lots of adventures and settles well in the car and on trains. He regularly comes with us to Devon and Cornwall, where my family lives, and we have been lucky enough to reunite Percy with his beautiful sister, Peggy (@peggytheunderdog), who also lives in Devon. Seeing the two of them play together is completely heartwarming and it’s uncanny how similarly they behave and look. 

Last summer we also road-tripped from London to Portugal, to stay by the sea for a month. Percy had the time of his life tearing around our deserted local beach every sunrise and sunset and dipping his paws in the ocean. He is happy to swim in calm water, but is less of a fan of waves - especially if they have the audacity to surprise him and break by his head! 

When he’s not adventuring with us, Percy is more than happy to switch to ‘lazy’ mode. I think he would sleep all day if we let him (his go-to nap mode is stretched out in a sunny spot - a true sun-loving Cypriot pup) and he loves curling up with us on the sofa. Percy has also learnt to use door handles, so there really is no escaping his cuddles - as if we mind in the slightest. 

Looking back, Percy has come leaps and bounds from the frightened little puppy we fostered back in 2021. He has grown into a wonderfully well-rounded pup and has not let his fears get in the way of enjoying life as a city dog, while truly coming to life when we take him on adventures. It is safe to say that agreeing to foster and then adopt Percy was the best and most fulfilling decision we could have made. I will always be grateful to Leanne, Eve and the team at Underdog international for bringing Percy into our lives. 

- Freya