Meet Poppy, The Newest Member of the Family

Meet Poppy, The newest member of the family.

On December 2nd 2021, we waited patiently for the newest member of the family to arrive.

Excitement overtook my entire body and with each new update, I could feel the happiness building up inside. Our new dog was on her way to us and she couldn’t come quick enough.

I realised I hadn’t taken the time to properly introduce Poppy here on the blog. She’s been with us 9 months now, and I’ve still not shared much about her.

So, today I wanted to dedicate my post to her, the newest member of our family.

The story of Poppy and her journey to her forever home

Choosing the right dog

I was scrolling through Facebook one evening as I hadn’t been on in a while. I thought I would see what was going on in the world, get my fill in before I logged off for another year or so.

As I scrolled I came across some posts from a rescue charity I follow sharing that there were dogs in need of a home. I just wanted to look, not really thinking we would get one, but I saw they accepted homes with children for some dogs.

We had been thinking about adopting a dog for a few months. It was something we were pondering but not actively looking at.

We had checked the likes of Dogs Trust and SSPCA, but no dogs were suitable for our home it seemed. Because Little Bear isn’t a teenager, our home wasn’t a fit for any of the dogs.

This got us down, but we understand that dogs will be homed to their needs, not the humans. So, we kept our minds and hearts open and if the right dog came along, we would enquire.

Opening our hearts to new possibilities

Anyway, I had been looking through the dogs that needed a home from Romania. The charity specialises in helping dogs that are in kill shelters to find them their forever home.

That’s when I really began to entertain the idea of adopting a Romanian rescue.

So, I got to work researching and finding out everything there was to know about adopting a dog from the likes of Romania.

It took a good few months to fully understand what it meant and talking my gran round to the idea. Eventually she agreed that if the right dog came along, we would seriously consider it.

I kept an eye on the charities page and fell in love with every dog I saw, but none were suitable for us.

I knew we would have to get a small dog as my gran isn’t a fan of medium to big dogs, so that’s what I looked for.

Then one day, as I scrolled their page I saw some new dogs added to the “Available for adoption” folder, and there she was, Poppy.

Love at first sight

As soon as I saw Poppy, my eyes lit up. Her little face called to me and I could feel the excitement build up inside as I ran down stairs to show my gran.

She ticked all the boxes!

• A puppy, under 1 year old
• Suitable to live with children 5 years and older
• Small, will remain small

When I turned the phone to my gran to see her face, I saw a smile appear and she never smiles off the bat. My gran had that connection as well, love at first sight.

She turned to me and nodded, I could enquire about her. But I was worried, her post had almost 200 comments on it, all people saying how cute she was and asking about her.

Would she be ours? Would I be too late?

Starting the adoption process

I got to work on typing out my introduction to the charity and giving them the information they were looking for. I carefully read over it again and again before hitting send because I wanted them to see how prepared and serious I was, especially as she had so much interest in her.

Eventually I got the courage to hit send, and that was that. From there we started the process and to our luck, we were the ones who had put a deposit down for Poppy (was originally Isla).

I genuinely couldn’t believe that we had gotten to adopt her, especially as she had so much interest. It affirmed to me that she was meant to be part of our family.

Getting prepped for her arrival

It felt like a lifetime waiting for Poppy to arrive. Although it was only a 3 week wait, it dragged in, and I couldn’t talk about it.

We didn’t want to share the news too soon in case anything happened in those 3 week, I guess we just didn’t want to jinx anything. So, we waited patiently and got prepared for her arrival.

The charity was great every step of the way. Always sharing details of what’s going on, when to expect her, giving us information and conducting home checks with us.

This was the perfect time for my over thinking and a time it actually came in super useful. I was over prepared, so much so one of the women I spoke with said I’m the most prepared person she’s ever spoken to during the adoption process.

I just didn’t want to take any chances and I wanted us to be fully aware of what adopting from Romania really means. There were no romanticised ideals in our house and we were fully prepared for anything that may come such as behaviour issues, health issues and more.

The wait was over

After patiently waiting the three weeks and making sure we had all the necessities for a new puppy, the day finally came where Poppy started her journey to Scotland.

It took her 3 days to get to us, and those three days felt like they were the longest I’ve ever lived through.

We didn’t get much sleep at that time because I was constantly checking for updates on where the van was.

Eventually they had reached the UK and the journey from down south started and dogs were beginning to make it to their final destinations.

I was put into a group chat with the other adoptees and we all eagerly awaited our beautiful pups arrivals. Seeing the photos of the dogs arriving made it even more special.

The morning was dragging in and our estimated arrival time of about 6 in the morning passed. The van was running behind.

Watching the clock time ticked away the slowest it’s ever gone. I was hoping beyond all hope that Poppy would arrive before Little Bear went off to school.

It wasn’t looking promising though.

We got our jackets on and headed out the door, and as I was assuring Little Bear that Poppy would be waiting for him when he came home from school, the van drove past.

POPPY WAS HERE!

My heart melted and Little Bear jumped up and down. Finally, our girl was here.

We ran into the house to grab the slip lead and a blanket for her and then back out to the street where the van was parked.

Two men got out and we chatted over all the paperwork before Poppy was brought out of the van.

I handed over the donations and food we had gotten for the men, and then Poppy was handed to me.

She was shaken up which was to be expected, she had just undergone a massive journey and was put into the arms of a stranger. At just 5 months old, our girl had already lived a life.

Taking her into my arms, I could feel the tears coming and gripped her securely as we walked into the house.

On December 2nd 2021 at 9:05am, Poppy was finally in her forever home.

Settling into family life

There aren’t enough words to describe how magical it has been integrating Poppy into our lives. She’s fitted in seamlessly and you’d think she was always part of the family.

Poppy is a clever girl, she’s taken to family life with ease and her training has come on leaps and bounds.

From the day she came to us, she’s been a joy to have and I’m very thankful she is part of our lives.

She’s never shown any signs of aggression, nor any behaviour issues. We’ve had no reactivity, no resource guarding or the likes.

Sure, she barks in the garden or when there is a loud knock at the door, but all our other dogs have done the same.

We are working on this though after getting some guidance and help at her puppy classes, which she aced!

Poppy only went ahead and won a champion trophy for being the most improved dog! I’m so very proud of her and I’m glad that it was visible how much work we had been putting in with her training.

Life with Poppy

Our lives have improved tenfold since she entered and I’m grateful we get to call her ours.

We are advised not to invent back stories for the dogs as very little is known about them before they enter the shelters. Most of the dogs, if not all, were street dogs and we cannot know for sure what kind of life they had.

But, there’s a part of me that can’t help but let my mind wander. So, I’ve made a point of making sure that her life will always be full of love and happiness now that she’s with us.

Life with Poppy is beautiful and magical.

Although there are many wonderful things about having Poppy in our lives, the main one for me is the bond she shares with Little Bear.

A bond like no other

I’ll admit, I was a little worried that she may be scared of him as he’s a typical hyper child at times, but that couldn’t be further from reality.

The bond that they both share is heartwarming.

She took to him straight away and they are like two peas in a pod, always playing together. You can see the love between them a mile off and everyone always comments how good she is with him.

After Teddy passed away Little Bear was devastated. That was his best bud, but now he has Poppy watching over him and I just know that wherever Teddy is, he’s content knowing she’s here helping mend our hearts.

There will never be enough words to express how loved Poppy is or how much she means to us, but I’ll spend a lifetime and more making sure she feels it every single day.

Welcome to the family Poppy, you are forever loved.

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