How big? Smaller side of medium
How old? Adolescent (around one year)
Male or female? Female
Living with kids? I can live with children (5+)
Living with dogs? I can live with other dogs
Resident dog required? No
Living with cats? I've not been tested with cats
Where can I live? I'd like an active home outside of the city
Where am I from? Cyprus

About Laika

Laika was brought into the shelter after being found on the streets as a stray. We assumed based on Laika’s confident, balanced nature and good health that she was probably missing from someone’s home, but sadly no one ever came to collect her, and without a microchip it was impossible to work out where she’d come from. She has now been at the shelter for four months without any interest.

We were actually really surprised that Laika didn’t find a forever home within Cyprus. She is incredibly intelligent, well behaved and trainable, and she attended a number of adoption days over the summer to try and meet prospective families, but sadly no one was drawn to her. Laika is around a year old and is on the smaller side of medium, although her tongue and her ears are constantly in competition to be her biggest feature! She has a fabulous smile but her tongue always lolls out of her mouth making her look quite over-excited, when in reality she is actually a very placid girl, eager to form a strong bond with her forever human.

Laika was also part of a photography campaign in Cyprus which showcased rescue dogs in need of homes alongside the Olympic athletes of Cyprus, and they were blown away by her wonderful nature. She enjoyed running along the beach off lead and was very well behaved. She was so happy to be out of the shelter and exploring the world, so it was such a shame to have to bring her back to her kennel at the end of the day.

Laika currently shares her living space with around six other dogs, both males and females, and gets on well with them. She doesn’t really like being too overcrowded and dogs not respecting her space, so she would prefer a home with a more calm resident dog rather than a boisterous pup, but she would also be more than content living on her own. She is definitely more people oriented than dog focused, and as long as she has human company, she will be very happy.

Laika could handle living in a busier location, but would enjoy running to her heart’s content if she was homed in the countryside. She would definitely prefer a home with access to a garden as she loves lying out in the sun, and she would benefit from continued training as she is very smart and welcomes mental enrichment. She would also prefer a fairly active lifestyle rather than a slow pace of life.

She has never shown an adverse behaviour towards children and we believe she would make a lovely family companion, but as in our care her exposure to children has been limited we would advise this is well managed and boundaries are introduced to avoid Laika feeling overcrowded.

Laika is currently based in Cyprus and has a clean bill of health. She is ready to travel once she finds her forever home.

Please note, any mention of breed is nothing more than an educated guess based on what we know about the dog, their appearance, behaviour, and common breeds in their country of origin. We can never guarantee breed specifics, nor can we confirm the exact age of our dogs, unless they were born in our care. Age estimations are made by our vets based on the development of the dog, their general health and energy, and assessing their teeth.