Our names are: Mushu and Lemon
We came from: China
Now we live in: Bedfordshire
Our favourite things are: Mushu - agility training, food, and being held like a baby. Lemon - naps, bananas and the tortoise
Follow us on Instagram: @mushu_lemon_theunderdogs

Mushu and Lemon’s story

We adopted Mushu in 2020 after searching high and low for a small fluffy dog to join our family! It was Covid times, and dogs seemed to be flying out of UK rescues, but we couldn’t find one suitable at all. I contacted Eve with my request and she matched us with Mushu from China, who seemed absolutely perfect for us!

We couldn’t wait for her to join our family and five months later, we finally got a flight (which were in short supply due to the effects of the pandemic) and we collected Mushu from the pet courier. We feel so incredibly lucky that she settled in so well and adjusted to life with us with ease, we had prepared for the worst, but hit gold with Mushu!

She’s developed into the funniest little show off dog who enjoys coming to work with me as a dog walker, learning agility and works part time as a stooge dog for a local dog trainer. We’ve had a few medical issues surrounding a sensitive tummy, but luckily we navigated this and found a diet that agrees with her.
Six months later, after much discussion, we felt Mushu would really benefit from a friend as she really enjoys the company of other dogs. We searched the Underdog website and after reading lots of amazing write ups, we applied to adopt another Chinese dog, Lemon!

Lemon arrived in July 2021, and it was clear from day one that she was much more closed down and scared compared to Mushu. It was obvious she had never stepped foot in a home before and the whole thing was very overwhelming for her. Lemon was most definitely going to be a challenge. She barked at the TV, she couldn’t do stairs, she needed toilet training, she would bark and chase any visitors, and she was very travel sick. I won’t lie, we had the ‘what have we done’ moment! But we also knew we were the best place for her and we were determined to give her a great life, even if it meant we had to make a few adjustments.

Slowly but surely, Lemon came out her shell. The dog who spent most of her time sat by herself by the front door started to come and sit near us. After a year, she’d cracked the stairs, toilet training was sorted and we slowly started introducing select visitors to our home. Fast forward to June 2023, Lemon is a different dog! She loves snuggling up to us, she interacts and engages in her training, allows visitors into our house (even if we do sometimes have to remind her of her manners!) and best of all, we can tell she’s finally happy! She was 100% worth all the effort and we have learnt so much from her.

Mushu and Lemon are the absolute best pair and now regularly welcome foster dogs into their home. My advice for adopters is time and patience is most definitely key and also, get a good pet insurance as you never know when you’ll need it!

- Abi