FEMALE
D.O.B APRIL 2016
SMALL
ROMANIA
SPAYED
UPDATE ON 16/04/22:
Our little Staffie passed away unexpectedly during the early lockdown, and it wasn’t long before the gap in our lives become too much and we searched for another dog. While browsing the internet at rescue centres in the UK, Strays2me came up and I took a look. We were looking for another adult female dog with a calm temperament to give a forever home. I noticed a little female dog called Pepper. Pepper had been a street dog and had been found by her rescuers with her puppies and their father, she had been living at the shelter for some time. I completed a form and within a few days, Geo at Strays2me contacted me over the phone. Geo was lovely and seemed to understand what we looking for and agreed Pepper may be a good match. We were so excited at the prospect of our new family member, but also a little anxious about homing a dog from abroad. During our video home check, the Stray2me team were very thorough and well organised, their kind and professional approach put our minds at rest. They really had the best interest at heart for a good match for Pepper and us as adopters. They offered us advice about homing a Romanian dog, and that the key to success to giving Pepper time and space. We prepared the house for her arrival and within a few nerve-racking weeks, Pepper had arrived.
Timid and a little bedraggled Pepper arrived. We had always had in mind that Pepper had been a street dog before her time in the shelter. She had never seen a house, a TV, stairs, a sofa or heard a doorbell ring. Luckily with the persuasion of cooked chicken, she picked up the courage to come out of her cage. I could see Pepper just wanted to feel safe. She seemed to take to me immediately, though shy and reserved. I had taken two weeks off work to help Pepper adjust and we made sure we were not expecting visitors for a while. During this time Pepper was very tired, we could see she was decompressing from the journey. She would run away if my husband tried to stoke her and only seemed comfortable with me. Giving Pepper time, space, peace and calmness, she gradually realised there was nothing to be afraid of and over the weeks she would accept my husband near her and then guests to the house. Pepper was quite sensitive to loud noise and shy away from new people, but again that just took time and going at Pepper’s pace. I would tell people to ignore her like she wasn’t there, and in doing this she would come to people when she was ready. if she wanted to. We were amazed at how quickly she toilet trained. We had plastic down everywhere but it wasn’t really needed as she toileted trained within a few days which was fortunate. It was difficult to get Pepper to walk on her harness at first as she was so frightened. She got used to the harness quite easily in the house, and again by persevering and taking it little by little she became happy to walk, and even enjoys a ride in the car. Pepper has learned to paw and can be trusted off lead
After 4 months had elapsed, and when we felt Pepper was ready, we got another little rescue female to be Pepper’s companion. After initially being a bit miffed at the competition they are now the greatest of friends! Pepper has come on leaps and bounds and having Dougie as her pal brought her even further out of her shell and into the confident, fun, loving, quirky little dog she is today. Pepper has shown Dougie the ropes and enabled our new girl to progress very quickly. We feel privileged to have Pepper in our family. Pepper has learned to paw and eventually become trusted off lead. She has over this 18 month period turned into more than we ever could have hoped for! We would not hesitate to get another Romanian rescue dog and cant recommend the Stray2me team enough for their support and expertise in making this transition work so well from start to finish. We like to stay in touch as I like to support them and keep them updated on Pepper’s new life and journey.
