I can't believe I'm writing this, as just over 1 year and a week ago, we picked up our little wonder dog, Cleo.
On 18th November 2021 Cleo joined our house of two to create a family of three. It has been an incredible, insightful and humbling journey and we could not be happier with our fluffer.
Let me give you a little background if you haven't heard us talk non-stop about this amazing dog. In Romania, there is a surplus of abandoned, homeless and terrified dogs. This stems from an 80's government scheme to industrialise Romania, forcing people out of the countryside and to abandon their cottages in the city to make room for apartments and other buildings.
Within this, owning a dog was prohibited and many family dogs were abandoned and left behind, to fend for themselves. The dogs naturally bred and this led to thousands of stray dogs and puppies on the streets. To combat the overpopulation of dogs and clear the streets, Romania introduced a state-sanctioned slaughter solution.
Dogs have been chased, tortured, captured and killed by many dog catchers across the country. The dogs are thrown into kill shelters and left to be claimed for 2 weeks before being "disposed" of in the cheapest way possible. Shockingly, this can be anything from the dogs being shot, gassed or drowned, It's certainly not a humane dispatch. During this time they are cramped up in small cells and abandoned - sometimes leading to eating each other to survive.
Our Cleo was found on the streets and became one of the 2-week-residents at the Petrosani kill shelter. Her time was limited and I think she only had a couple of days of life left before she was destined to be put down. There are many charities throughout many countries (Romania, England, and Germany to name a few) that dedicate their time and money to save as many of these dogs as they possibly can.
After discussing adding a puppy to our clan, we followed the wonderful work of our local Rommi Rescue charity, we were adamant we were going to adopt and not shop. The charity posts new dogs that are found every day - not just in the shelters, but abandoned on doorsteps, dumped in bin bags on the streets, or trembling at the side of the road.
The sheer amount of these dogs is heartbreaking. We spotted Cleo, freshly rescued from Petrosani kill shelter and knew we had to meet her. She made the 24-hour van journey from Petrosani, Romania to Leicestershire, England and we met her within the week.
We spent some time with her, letting her get used to our smell and voices and reassuring her we would not hurt her. After a quick talk, we took her home.
To say she was terrified of the world is an understatement. She was trembling and jumping at every sound and person, including us. Even getting her used to the sound of Music playing or the TV on would cause her to run for cover!
With all this in mind, man has she made such a transformation! She has so much personality and has so much love to give.... from a dog that would not sit in the same room as us and would cower when we went near her, she is now the happiest dog imaginable.
She isn't without her flaws though, as she has a condition called Queen Anne Legs, meaning that her legs are deformed and bow outwards, which we're told is down to malnutrition in her early days. I wouldn't say it's ever bothered her, and as doting dog parents, it certainly doesn't bother us either.
I've had a few dogs before, and they've always been what I term incredibly loving, and caring dogs, but I've never known a dog to dote on someone quite the same way Cleo does. It's just another level of love and gratefulness that I've never ever seen with a dog before.
She has so much to give, and she makes us smile and laugh every day without fail. We do our best to make sure she has the best adventures, the best rewards and overall the best life possible. Yes, there's still new experiences that terrify her even now, but she's gone from living off scraps of food in dustbins on the streets all the way to being the most spoilt dog ever, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
She's learnt new tricks! Sit, and paw came fairly quickly, but we've taught her to ring a little hotel-style bell (We had to get a nod into Rachel's career in hospitality somehow!), and even talk!
She absolutely deserves the world and deserves a life where she can forget her horrible beginning.
We don't know how old she is, and we don't know when her birthday is, but we do know when we got her. So please join me in wishing our beautiful Cleo a very happy 1st "Gotcha Day", with many many more to come!
Oh, and naturally, she had to have her own doggy photoshoot, complete with a birthday bandanna and hat...
That's it for this week!
Peace, Love and Photos.
Jono x