My name is: Ripley
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: Hastings
My favourite things are: Amazon boxes for nibbling, peanut butter for licking, squirrels for chasing
Follow me on Instagram: @ripley.got.rescued

Ripley’s story

Ripley (aka  “The Dog Formerly Known As Marilyn”) came to us from Cyprus back in March 2020. We were new to Hastings, having moved from London, and our dream of giving a rescue dog a loving, rural home suddenly became a reality. Our search for the right dog was short, but a huge decision nontheless. We considered a few charities but ultimately fell in love with Underdog and the wonderful work they do. Ripley first appeared during a late night scroll through the gorgeous pups on the Underdog website. Her adorable face caught our eye and besides having a slight preference towards women, she seemed like a perfect match. The next day we both agreed that we “couldn’t stop thinking about Marilyn”, so we got in touch with Underdog. 

The entire process from start to finish was streamlined, professional and sensitive to both our needs and (more importantly) Ripley’s needs. At this stage, none of us quite knew how difficult Covid would make things for future adoptions, but Underdog switched the process into a high gear to ensure we didn’t encounter any issues as borders began to close across Europe. Ripley was flown from Cyprus to Cologne and then driven by transporters to Folkestone, where we met her for the first time. From the second the van door opened, we knew we’d made the right choice. She gave the transporter a huge cuddle and sniffed her way along every cage in the van, saying goodbye to all her travel buddies. We picked her up for her first cuddle and held her while she slept all the way back to her new home. 

She was understandably nervous at first but showed us nothing but love and trust. Within an hour, she was fast asleep on the couch next to us. We felt so unbelievably lucky that she was such a perfect match for us. We did everything we could not to overwhelm her at first: we introduced her to the house over the course of the first few days, allowing her plenty of time to adjust to each room, always making sure she knew where her safe space was. She identified her bed straight away and we made the rule that we’ll never approach her (even for cuddles) when she’s in bed. This meant she always had somewhere peaceful and safe to go when things got overwhelming.

I guess it’s also important to say that even though Ripley was the most wonderfully behaved and loving dog, the first week was incredibly overwhelming for everyone involved. The change of routine along with the new responsibilities and concerns definitely felt like a lot to take on at first. But Underdog were on the other end of the phone/whatsapp whenever we needed them, even just to ask for advice or to have a little cry! 

Speaking of crying, Ripley cried a couple of times the first night, but we comforted her without too much engagement and left her to sleep. Since then, she’s slept soundly in the living room every single night without a peep. We can’t believe how wonderfully brave and independent she is, but I think she really appreciates knowing her routine and safe space. Initially, we kept walks short and local, keeping her on the leash until we had a little recall training under our belts. She made so many friends, including her best pal Boudica (a giant adorable lurcher!). 

In (what felt like) no time, we had a very smooth routine established with two walks per day and plenty of play time/training in the garden. At this point, lock-down was in full swing and I can’t emphasise what an uplifting, bright light Ripley was in an otherwise super dark and uncertain time for us. Her training was something for us all to focus on and her endless positivity was honestly so infectious.

Towards the end of summer we noticed Ripley wasn’t using her back left leg as she should. It wasn’t dramatic but we decided to take her to the vets. They initially diagnosed a luxating patella, but on closer inspection they discovered she had torn her cruciate ligament. I’m including this in her “success story” because unfortunately this is part of the reality of taking on a dog. These things happen, and although Ripley’s injury was likely due to a genetic predisposition, there’s nothing we could’ve done to prevent it. My advice is to make sure you take out pet insurance as soon as possible and always speak to your vet about any concern. 

After an operation and a few unhappy weeks in a cone of shame, Ripley made a full recovery and was back enjoying the local beach and hills in no time. She’s such a trooper and we’ve been so impressed by her resilience!  

As I write this, she’s curled up in a tiny ball in her extremely fluffy bed beside the fire after a long morning walk along the beach. This afternoon we’re going to work on some new commands in the garden (with a pocket-full of treats of course!). This evening, after she’s finished her tea, she’ll head to her toy basket and pick out about five of her favourites, carry them to the couch and play with them until she falls asleep. Every morning she’s allowed upstairs onto our bed for cuddles (you’ve never seen a dog run up a set of stairs so quickly) and we spend the first half hour of every day kissing her face and tickling her little belly. 

Ripley has, without doubt, improved our lives beyond measure. She cheers up everyone she meets and is just such a beautiful energy. As much as we love to believe that dogs like Ripley are rare, Underdog’s website is absolutely packed with similarly wonderful little characters. If you’re considering getting a dog, please, please consider rescuing through Underdog - we’d do it again in a flash.

- Richard