My name is: Dixie
I came from: Mauritius
Now I live in: Surrey and Dorset
My favourite things are: Having cuddles, zoomies on the beach, playing with Nero and lying on my mum’s feet whilst she cooks

Dixie’s story

We’d been looking for another dog to join our family and our Labrador, Nero. Having already rescued cats, rabbits and chickens we knew that adoption was the route we wanted to take. We were having little success until a friend recommended Underdog International. As a school counsellor, I really liked their ethos of animals and humans providing therapy for each other.

We were looking through some pictures of dogs who needed homing shortly as transport was already arranged and noticed Dixie. The fact that she had already been living with another dog appealed to us but the story of her having been kept at a yard where she was beaten and then rescued to a shelter, really sealed the choice. The fact that she had such an endearing face also helped. We knew she needed and deserved to be in a loving home of her own.

When she arrived we were amazed, given her background, how trusting and quickly she settled with our family.

She struggled with crate training and being alone at night, but a few days in we left her with Nero and that seemed to be the calm she needed. She adores him and always looks to him for guidance and protection. He loves her too and they are constantly play fighting in the garden, usually initiated by her!

Despite her rather calm appearance on the pictures we’d viewed, we were warned that she may be quite a lot of energy, but we were willing for the challenge. She is easily excited and bouncing off the walls for most of the day but we wouldn’t have it any other way. She loves attention and cuddles; almost knocking us over with excitement, on occasions, in her attempts to cuddle us as soon as the door is opened. She also has an extremely adorable habit of sticking her face through the cat flap so she can watch us as we leave or return to unlock the door.

As a curious young dog, she is prone to sneaking out through the gates to take herself on little adventures, sending us off to search the neighbours’ gardens for her on numerous occasions, only for her to return and wonder what the fuss is about. Hence her nickname of Tricksy Miss Dixie! Despite the garden being fenced we had to install reinforcements just to ensure she is not putting herself in danger, or annoying the neighbours too much! - though we are used to calls saying, ’Dixie’s here!’. This aside, she did brilliantly with dog training and her lead work and recall are great.

We are so grateful to Eve and all at Underdog International for working so hard to get Dixie to us. It is so heart-warming to see her contentedly snuggled up with her big brother or the children and know that she feels safe at last. I can honestly say that despite her penchant for chewing and escape artistry, she makes us smile every day and we know that she has given us as much as we have given her.

- Mariette