My name is: Carlos
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: South London
My favourite things are: Sniffing my way round a long walk, snuffle boxes, my squeaky banana soft toy and sneaking in to bed with my owners in the dead of night so that I’m ready for morning cuddles.
Follow me on Instagram: I don’t have my own but @rosiewyatt is constantly posting pictures of me

Carlos’s story

We can’t quite believe that Carlos has been with us for over a year already - sometimes we have to pinch ourselves to believe that this cute little chap is ours. He came into our lives and turned us in to a family.

But that’s not to say that it’s all been plain sailing. We had always known that we wanted to adopt and give a dog a second chance at a happy life and whilst we were prepared for the challenges that come with that, there have been times where it’s been hard to see the light at the end of tunnel. After initially settling in well and seeming happy on the lead, 2 months in Carlos became incredibly reactive on walks. Runners, cyclists and other dogs all seemed to trigger him; at its worst he would lunge and bark at any who passed us on a walk. 

It has taken real perseverance and patience to work on this with him and it’s not until we look back that we can see how far he’s come and realise that the success story isn’t the moment you get your dog but the life you share with him. He’s now fine being left alone for a few hours, on the whole walking nicely on his lead and even seemed unfazed by the recent New Years Eve fireworks.

Adopting a dog changes your life - it’s another ‘person’ to always be considering. But he makes us laugh every day, we’ve seen him learn how to play with toys (we haven’t mastered balls or fetch yet), seeing him run and play well with other dogs, the cuddles, when he rests his chin on your feet, how other peoples faces light up when he trots by them - for us, it’s all worth it.

- Rosie