Our Story
To understand why The Right Dog exists and why we are changing the way you rescue a dog in the UK, I need to introduce you to our rescue dog, Haku. When I first met him, I was still a volunteer at the RSPCA. And him, a husky cross that the RSPCA seized from a vet.
This vet had a cellar under his surgery and kept Haku and another 11 dogs there with barely any food or water. Yep, you read it right, a vet mistreating animals! If you didn’t hear about it at the time, it was a big case. See article when they were about to be sentenced with Haku as the 1st husky on the right)
That experience should have left him traumatised. But in a rescue environment stress levels are through the roof. So he just looked like a very excited, a bit of a weirdo, but friendly boy. I even remember thinking that he was too good looking, too easy to adopt him. It didn’t matter, because with that face, he was rehomed quickly. You can think that it was a match made in heaven: a guy that worked in the forest, always outside adopting an active husky…
Life continued, I was hired as an animal carer at the RSPCA. I rehomed my very first rescue dog in the UK, Nanook (another one from the cellar – pic to your right). And went on holiday for a couple of weeks. During the same time, unbeknown to me, Haku was having issues at home. Until a point that he was brought back for biting a relative during a visit.
I don’t have more information about the incident, but I can tell you that the dog that I met before, was gone, and this new Haku was another thing. But we were having the opportunity to rescue him as a second chance! I remember calling my husband so excited, because we were having this amazing chance to get exactly what I wanted. Notice here how I say “what I wanted”.
By then, I had been working with dogs as a dog trainer for over 4 years. I thought I was prepared for him, but I didn’t pay much attention to my husband, bless him! Who had never owned a dog before. The only condition I had to rescue a dog was that he had to be cat friendly, due to having already a cat at home. But that was it. I even knew him! What could go wrong? Oh, boy! Didn’t I know I was in for a treat!
The Haku that was returned was different. He was very afraid, with plenty of stereotypes in the kennel (mostly spinning and tale chasing), scared of people and other dogs. What happened during his time outside? Who knows?
But that made him quite attractive to me. I was looking for a project dog, as a dog trainer I wanted that challenge. In rescue, a project dog is one that due to behavioural issues, they will need months or years in order to thrive. Sometimes, it will take all their lifetime, like Haku.
So as they say, be careful about what you wish for… I ended up biting far more that I could chew. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I wasn’t prepared for a dog that:
Didn’t like to be touched
Didn’t know how to play
You can teach him to tolerate it, but he wasn’t interested in interacting with you. You can’t change a personality!
And that hurts, lots. Because all your expectations of having a fluffy loving dog that is eager to meet you when you arrive home never happened.
Because something that I took for granted, like going on long walks with my active husky, it was never on his plans. Every time I read about how energetic and active huskies are I remember my coach potato and laugh. Please, do not take for granted breed traits, even less in a rescue dog.
Dogs are individuals and you can’t even imagine how broad that makes them. It took months for him to start going for walks. After more than 3 months with us, he was going out for less than half an hour a day! Going out was stressful for him.
To be honest, Haku was never a difficult dog, he was more like an indoor cat. Happy in his bubble, but scared of life, he couldn’t handle normal life. We are talking about expectations vs reality.
Because he was so anxious, we could not leave him anywhere. That meant that if I was going back to Spain to see my family and friends, my husband had to stay with Haku. And that went on for years!
To give you an idea, our families didn’t meet until recently! So for us that meant, no travelling home together, going on holidays to remote places where he could relax and we disconnect. But without the chance to enjoy the area we were visiting. Not having visitors or training the few regular ones to coexist with him. Stressful vet visits where he had to be the only dog around,…
And all of that for a dog that when he was resting in the living room on his own and you arrived, he would look at you, stand up and move to a different room. He only cared about food, that was it.
It was tough, very tough. I don’t think I can stress enough how soul destroying it was. I have worked with hundreds of dogs in my life, but Haku was a particular mix that made me really aware of how much a life has to adapt in order for certain dogs to succeed.
And that was something that ended up affecting my job.
By the time Haku passed, I had been working as a dog trainer and behaviour advisor at Dogs Trust for years. Helping people going through the same journey I went with him became more and more complicated. You think you know what you are looking for and that you are prepared for it.
But the reality is that you don’t know what you don’t know, and the experience you have with some dogs doesn’t prepare you for everything that is out there.
That’s why I decided to leave the job that I loved, as I couldn’t do it anymore. Recover from all the compassion fatigue I developed while doing it. And create something to help people find a dog that will not only enhance their life by meeting their expectations. But also, hopefully, even surpassing them!
And although my life is far easier now that Haku is no longer with us, I miss him terribly. That’s the magic bond you create when you rescue a dog.
The Right Dog for you
During our first 121, you’ll tell me what you are looking for. Then we’ll discuss what you wish versus what you need and we’ll get to the bottom of what you exactly want.
Based on my experience and expertise
Years of working at rescues and setting strict criteria for the dogs under my care have allowed me to picture the ideal adopter rescues have in mind. And that way, I can help you stand out from the crowd and get your dream rescue dog for you.
Direct to your inbox
That simply, easy and fast. In 48 hours, I will send you a curated list with up to 3 candidates perfectly suited for you. Without wasting time, making sure that you are made for each other and from reputable rescues offering all the guarantees and support that you could need.
Not only that, with my experience rehoming hundreds of dogs for different rescues, I will give you personalised tips to jump through their hoops and finally get the rescue dog you are looking for!