My name is: Cleo (the lioness)
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: Edinburgh
My favourite things are: Barking at my neighbours, rough and tumbling with my pal Rascal, stealing Rascal’s ball, making all friendly humans into my own personal sofa, beanbag or chair, defending mum from cats, refusing to pose for photos, eating cardboard and learning new tricks for cheese!
Follow me on Instagram: @cleoandchums

Cleo’s story

I'd been torturing myself looking at potential pups for a long time and had been talking to Eve well before Underdog was founded. When I eventually got to a point I was ready for a little four legged bundle of joy Eve helped me to find just the right pup. Don't tell Cleo, she wasn't my first choice but I couldn't imagine having any other dog now! 

The team have worked hard to make the process smooth, and one thing that impressed me is that having learned a bit more about a dog I'd reserved, Eve flagged that he wouldn't be a good match and pulled the adoption. Eve then worked with me to share dogs that she had assessed herself until we landed on Cleo. All the way up to Cleo's arrival I got excellent updates as well as some tips on what to expect on Cleo's arrival and pics of what she was up to. 

I won't sugar coat it, upon her arrival it was really rough for me and Cleo. Unfortunately the journey stressed her more than anticipated and we had a pretty rocky start. Fortunately Underdog have behaviourists on hand and when that didn't quite work Eve, Nadine, Didi and Leanne went over and above to help to make it work and find a light at the end of the tunnel. They really saved both me and Cleo who were both utterly frazzled and worried that we wouldn't find a way to make it work. Although there were some real lows for us both at the beginning, I think it just means that I love her even more now. We’ve had to work so hard together and when I see the pampered pooches running riot in the park I can't help but feel a bit smug that my pampered pooch knows how to behave (most of the time).

Fortunately I was prepared to invest in training as that has probably been the biggest financial shock (luckily lockdown meant I wasn't spending money on anything else). I think I might be on the verge of a career in dog behaviour! With Cleo having a few more issues than expected it has meant she has lots of experts on hand to train me - I know so much more about what dogs are communicating, how to communicate back with them effectively and as a result I'm running out of tricks to teach her. She loves to learn! I think I almost cried with joy the first time she let anyone other than me come up and stroke her. That really was the moment I could see the great dog that was hiding behind all the fear and anxiety. We still have a few bumps to get over, she’s not a fan of kiddies just yet but we hope with time she'll see that they are just another opportunity to soak up some fuss!

Cleo has changed my life a lot. She is a needy little girl and isn't too happy on her own, fortunately for her lockdown happened and fortunately for me I already had Cleo before the travel bans started. We've helped each other through this tricky time. I've shown her it's ok to be left alone, by building up short absences at a pace she can handle and she has showered me in love in what would otherwise have been a very lonely time. I live on my own and it would have been a very different lockdown without her (thank you devil dog x).

Now that’s she’s settled she loves to follow me everywhere I go and if she isn't doing that she's sitting on the stairs guarding the front door. She loves her walks and has learned that when I say ‘bye’ on a conference call in the afternoon it's a great time to remind me she's ready for her next one!

- Claire