Some of our Rehoming Success Stories……

Marley

As you know, we had a few challenges around leaving Marley alone. She still has separation anxiety, however it has improved considerably. She’s developed into a reasonably well behaved dog who is obedient so long as there are no distractions. She’s love others dogs of whatever size and constantly wants to play. Definitely a smart dog, she loves to interact with the children and is quick to learn tricks and new ways to steal socks and shoes.

She now comes into the office with me for usually 3-4 days per week and is very happy as it is based on a farm so there are lots of good walks for her. The attached photo is of her at work and she clearly is not doing any work at all!

Kind regards

Jonathan

The ‘Tail of Morgan’

Having been informed that the CCGB was looking to rehome a Cockapoo, I made contact with Stephen.
He provided all the information regarding Morgan and explained where she had come from and the reason why she was looking to be rehomed. With this we made arrangements to travel up to Lincolnshire.

On the way up with my husband I had a mental picture in my mind of what I hoped she would be like. Brown, curly and a bundle of fun.
We had earlier in the year lost our previous dog Barney, a blonde Golden Retriever. She enjoyed 12 years with us and was deeply missed by all the family. After a while we decided that we should start thinking about having another dog as we missed having a dog around the house. It was important to us that we had a different type of dog, as we could never replace Barney (below) and had no intention of doing so.

On arrival at Stephen’s home we were made very welcome and after a while we meet Morgan, she was just how I imagined she would be. I knew straight away that she was perfect. She is a large standard Cockapoo, 21 inch to the shoulder. Stephen gave a history of his involvement with the Cockapoo Club and the rehoming process. I believe that Morgan was one of the first to be rehomed.

We decided that we would like to share our home with her and we gave a donation to the club. Stephen explained that the money would be offered to the previous owner and if they chose to they would make a donation to the CCGB (as the service was offered without charge). It was apparent that Stephen knew that we would be responsible long term owners.

Anyway, shortly afterwards Morgan was traveling securely to her new home.

As soon as she arrived home she carried out a full survey of the house and garden and was then introduced to my son Charlie, daughter Racheal and Charlie’s girlfriend Tory. Who provided an overload of fuss and cuddles. It was as if she had always lived here.We made the decision to change her name to Mollie and she responded straight away.

Mollie has enjoyed many outings, her first being to Southwold, so many people stopped to see her and she loved all the attention.

One little girl said, Look Mummy that dog looks like a Teddy bear. Which really summed her up.
She has also had many outings to local parks and woodland areas and as we live in the middle of the countryside, she enjoys rural walks everyday. She also enjoys visiting the local pubs after a long walk (and so does my husband) She sits under the table and is so well behaved when out and about.
We took her to a dog show in the summer and even when surrounded by hundreds of other dogs she was a star. She had a go at fly ball and loved it.
We also attended the Cockapoo Club walk at Hylands Park which was organised by Helen Conway.
This amused my work colleagues when I explained that I went to Hylands with loads of other ‘Poo’s’. This was the first time we let Mollie of the lead in a park and she was fine racing around with the other dogs.
Mollie appeared to have a liking to jump up on the work tops in the kitchen which was a problem.

One day having made tea and scones. I made the mistake of leaving them on the worktop for a couple of seconds; the next thing I knew was the plate was there, but no scones. Mollie was found out in the garden looking like quite innocent, but with cream around her mouth. I did have to laugh. She also has a liking for fondant fancies, socks, tissues and toilet rolls. I think that she is perhaps training to be in the next Andrex advert!!
She also loves ducks, horses and cows and sea gulls. I will not mention her mud bath at Walton on the naze whilst chasings the gulls!!
She has been to training lessons and has been moved up to a higher class. It also appears that we may have to enter her in ‘Strictly come dancing’ as every day when I get home from work she dances with me.
I will keep you updated on her progress, but should you ask are you glad we have Mollie? You bet we are.

Big Thanks must go to the Cockapoo Club for giving us the opportunity to welcome Mollie in to our family.
Brenda and Howard Cross, Chelmsford

Oscar

Well he is just perfect!!! He settled in immediately and has shown no signs of being concerned in any way by his change of surroundings. He is sleeping all night in his crate and also on and off during the day when I need to get on with things. He’s had no accidents in the house and has even found his own special place in the garden to perform!! He enjoys his walks on the lead and just trots along beside me quite happily without pulling. He and my grandson Jacob and great friends and he also sees my Mum’s miniature yorkie Millie regularly – she is a bit annoying to him at times (Millie not my Mum!) so he politely puts her in her place but on the whole they play well and ignore each other the rest of the time!!!

He’s also been introduced to his other home in Perthshire which he loves – again no probs settling in there. I really can’t believe how good he has been from day 1 and he’s adored by everyone who meets him!!!

I’ve started with a puppy trainer last week who will work with me and Oscar once a week for 5 weeks to train him on all the basics. He already sits, lies down and comes on command with the use of a clicker and a little treat – so clever!! I’ve had homework to do with him since last week and we have our second lesson this afternoon. Next week we will meet at the local park and work on letting him off the lead.

I can’t thank you enough for giving Oscar to us – he is just a little darling and a complete joy!

Best wishes
Elaine

Tia

We lost our previous ‘poo Oreo to the devastating effects of HGE on Friday 7th November 2014. We were distraught. We knew straight away that we did not want another pup but as a family we felt we could offer a home to a rescue dog. We thought there would be a long waiting list for a rescue ‘poo so contacted Stephen to put the wheels in motion. Imagine my surprise when he rang me back straight away to say he had a 13 month chocolate bitch (Maggie) who had been handed in to him on the day Oreo died. She came from a family whose marriage had broken down and was quite neglected – very thin and matted. We were not sure if it was too soon but arranged to drive up to him the following Sunday to see if Maggie took to us. Stephen was adamant that was the first priority.

Pleased to say she did and we arranged for Stephen to hold onto her for another 2 weeks so she could be properly assessed. Myself and my son Conor drove up to collect her on Friday 28th November. We renamed her Tia as in the drink Tia Maria. She settled in with us straight away. It did take her two weeks to get used to the dog flap though. She has been the most calm dog you could wish for considering the awful time she had before she came to us. She now goes into the school my daughter teaches at to help children overcome their fear of dogs. It feels like we have had her forever.

Oscar the Horrible – by Kevin Isaac

And so it was arranged, the day had come and it was time to come face to face with Oscar the Horrible.

This was the animal that had pinned down his owner’s 8 year old son with venom in his eyes and savaged the vet before being removed by CCGB with an ASBO, and the attitude of a Grizzly Bear with a hangover.

Oscar the Horrible was making his way to the arena, fired up and ready to go to war with whoever was placed in front of him. This dog knew no mercy and had a record of destruction.

The door burst open and like a demented tiger Oscar the Horrible launched himself into the room at lightning speed, making a beeline for his first victim of the hour. He powered through the air like a jet propelled fighter plane, crashing into the chest of his victim, open mouthed, teeth glaring, and proceeded to lick my daughter to death with his soggy wet muzzle and lightening tongue.

After the huge build up this was nothing more than a love starved puppy that just needed a good home with strict ground rules and leadership.

Oscar, no longer the Horrible, has grown into a much laid back and chilled out dog. Yes he has a mind of his own, and probably too intelligent for his own good, but we wouldn’t want him any other way. We re homed him because he demonstrated attitude and deserved a second chance in a loving home.

Thanks to the good work from Steve, Julia and Mick, we have been able give this lad a new start. Thanks for introducing us to Oscar the Horrible.

Paddie by Linzi Sudell

We rehomed Paddie in February 2014, and have never looked back since. We wanted another dog as a companion for our Chocolate Labrador, Indie, who is now a very placid, loveable and tolerant dog, but at the time was an extremely mischievous three year old. Being a true Labrador, she was completely driven by her stomach and scents around her and hence her recall was not great! As she loved the company of other dogs, we hoped a friend would distract her from her antics. I had fallen in love with cockapoos after meeting Bilbo, owned by Philippa and John who are officials of the CCGB, and who live in our village. As a small child, my first dog was a Toy Poodle and, although we have always had large dogs since then, the idea of one similar but a bit more robust for a busy family was very appealing. I also felt comfortable with the concept of rehoming a dog, regardless of age. Having emailed Stephen a couple of times to register our interest, a short while later he got in touch to say he had three possible cockapoos for us to consider rehoming. The following weekend my husband, daughter and I drove up from Surrey to Lincolnshire to meet him and the dogs. Stephen thoroughly “vetted” us before introducing us to the dogs individually. The second dog we met was a lively and cheeky seven month old puppy who happily leapt all over us. He was a little thin with long legs and had a mass of blond curly hair and looked far too pretty to be a boy! He was very alert and appeared to have real strength of character. Although Stephen told us he had a few issues with anxiety which we needed to be aware of, he felt he would be ideal for our busy family, and a good companion for Indie.

I had put a spare bed and lead in the back of the car, hoping that we might be bringing a dog back with us, and we were very excited to find we were. He soon settled into the long journey and we spent our time trying to think of a different name for him as we felt a new start deserved a new name. When we arrived home late in the evening, Indie accepted him from the minute he walked into the house, although our new addition was obviously wondering where on earth he was. As he had been used to a cage, we put his bed inside it in the kitchen with Indie in a bed near to him, but he howled for most of the night and no one got much sleep! After a couple of nights, we took the cage away and he settled down in his bed next to Indie and was much happier. In the early weeks, he did have a few digestive issues but these were resolved and he started to gain weight. We finally named him Paddie.

At first we walked Paddie on the lead to get him used to his new surroundings and walks. He was very wary of small children, walkers without dogs, brollies and backpacks, and we did have a few run-ins with joggers, horses and cyclists once he was off the lead. Life wasn’t plain sailing in the early months, however, in our experience, looking after any puppy can be challenging! We took him to puppy training and after lots of positive reinforcement with plenty of treats, we managed to address his issues and worries. He now rarely blinks at these distractions, except he still has a tendency to bark at and be nervous of larger dogs on walks, even though he lives with one!

Someone recently described cockapoos as “velcro dogs” as they stick to you wherever you go. Paddie could not fit this description more. His recall is fantastic and he very rarely lets us out of his sight. He hates to miss out and likes nothing better than to sit by our feet, sneak onto the sofa or have a morning nap on our bed. He doesn’t like to be in a different room to us and used to be nervous of visitors to the house, but now madly greets everyone from workmen to friends, and everyone gets a shoe as a present! If we do not push the chairs underneath the kitchen table before leaving the house, he hops on to see out of the kitchen window, waiting for the car to pull back into the drive. He has never chewed anything he shouldn’t have but we do have a few scratches on the kitchen door
and it is often hard to find a pair of shoes together!

Paddie loves life. He has endless energy and a passion for tennis balls, spending hours tossing the ball at our feet for us to throw it for him. He loves his long daily walks with his numerous friends and has recently started Agility which he absolutely loves. According to his trainer, he is showing huge potential as he is very smart as well as being quick and agile, and I hope to do some competitions with him. He adores Indie and they have a mutual respect for each other and Indie has clearly taken on the big sister role. They swap beds and toys and play chase in the garden together which invariably results in Paddie winning. There has never been an ounce of jealousy or a cross word between them since day one. We take them with us where ever possible and in the last year they have visited Edinburgh, Yorkshire, The Cotswolds and the South Coast!

The love Paddie gives back to our family is so rewarding. He has a special friendship with my son, giving him a daily early morning wake-up call and then “chats” away to him when he returns home at the end of the day. When my daughter returns home from university, he will wait outside her closed bedroom door until she gets up. We love the way he tilts his head from side to side when we are talking to him as if he really does understand everything we say. He does like to bark, but that also makes him an excellent guard dog! He is such wonderful company because he just wants to please, be part of our life and be loved. It’s fair to say that we are quite besotted with him. He is an absolute treasure and we couldn’t imagine life without him. I hope that one day I may be lucky enough to rehome another cockapoo.

Bess’s story by Peter

In May 2013 we got our first Poo from a local hobby breeder and after about 18 months, started to think about another, as company for Millie. Well, at least that was how I was justified it but, in truth, I simply so much enjoyed having Millie around, I wanted another.

I contacted Stephen, outlined my position and explained what I was looking for. At that time he had a 19 month old, golden/red bitch called Lulu, who apparently had no issues other than suffering from separation anxiety. I knew that wouldn’t be a problem as it was something we could work on, plus she would have Millie for company.

That was in the July 2014 and I arranged to meet up with Stephen the following month at the Cockapoo Games. That duly happened and we took charge of Lulu for the day. She was quite subdued and seemed a bit overwhelmed until a ball was produced and then she chased around like a whirling dervish, for what seemed like forever. At the end of the day, Stephen allowed us to take Lulu home to see how we all got along. The arrangement was that we would have her for a couple of weeks and a decision would then be made about her future.

It was clear over the first few days that Millie saw Lulu as a bit of an interloper and was a bit grumpy about having another dog in the house but there was certainly no aggression. Lulu was very quiet and withdrawn and would follow me everywhere and sit quietly on my lap and did very little else. I referred to her, rather unkindly, as a dog without character but in time was to be proved totally wrong. Millie quickly got used to Lulu and would frequently goad her into playing some rough and tumble although such play, at that time, was never initiated by Lulu. I kept an eye on things to make sure that it never developed into bullying and gradually Lulu began to become more adventurous and assertive.

I kept in contact with Stephen to reassure him that Lulu was ok and tackling the separation issue was progressing well. With Stephen being the busy man that he is, those 2 weeks turned into about 6, by which time it was apparent that Lulu’s future was definitely with us. Eventually. On 29th September I visited Jukee Doodles in order to complete the paperwork and formally adopt Lulu. I had already decided to change Lulu’s name to Bess, simply a personal preference, so apologies to all you Lulu owners out there!

In January 2015 I started Bess on agility training and she took to it like a duck to water. She’s progressed well and in July that year she entered her first independent competition. After a few eliminations, she got a First in her class in the steeplechase. She ran at the Cockapoo Games that year, getting a First in the Beginners steeplechase. She also ran with Millie, Poppy and Callie as a 4 dog team in the steeplechase relay, achieving a very creditable 2nd place, only being beaten by Mick and his agility display team.

In November 2015, Bess entered her first Kennel Club competition and got First Place in her very first KC agility run, moving her up to Grade 2. She continued to compete at local Independent competitions through the winter, doing really well and, sometimes, not so well; all a big learning curve for both of us. During this year’s May Bank Holiday, she entered her second KC competition, winning 5 jumping rounds, so now up to Grade 3. We’re currently competing in Dog Vegas at Thetford and hoping for a move up to grade 4 by the time the competition ends; fingers crossed.

We’ve owned Bess for nearly 2 years and during that time she has become an integral part of our family, with her and Millie becoming great friends. Bess is a great little dog and I can’t imagine life without the 2 Poos. I’m so glad I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to look after Bess, she’s a little star.

A couple of photos attached. One shows Bess with her rosettes from her last KC competition in May, where she got 5 Firsts and a Third from 9 events, moving her up to Grade 3. Other photo shows her chilling out at home with her pal Millie.