My name is: Scooby (for short: his full title is Baron Scoobington Von Lichtenstein, the Third!)
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: Bedfordshire
My favourite things are: Cuddles, food, love, attention, playing with my rope, attention, long walks with many many sniffs, other dogs, and attention!
Follow me on Instagram: @scoobythesegugio

Scooby’s story

We rescued Scooby two years ago, which was bang in the middle of the horrible nightmare world that was the pandemic. We'd wanted a dog for a long time, and always knew we'd rescue; it felt like the right time to bring some more love into the family. Eve, and Underdog, were recommended by some of our best friends, who'd rescued their own dog, Hugo, and they were absolutely right: Eve and the team are so kind, so loving, so committed to loving and rescuing dogs, and to bringing the right people and dogs together.

The process included lots of getting to know us, to make sure that we were the right home for the dog we were interested in, and that every dog they home goes to the right environment. There's so much information about what the dogs are like, their personalities, their needs, and I had been looking at other resources to adopt dogs for years and never found that amount of information or support anywhere else. I found it very reassuring, because it showed that this was an organisation focussed on rescuing dogs & making sure their lives are the best they can be, not on making a profit anywhere.

The whole Underdog team made us feel very supported and well informed throughout the process, which showed that each and every dog they find, help, treat, support and home are genuinely loved, and that they aren't just 'processed' - and if you get to know Eve, or follow her own Instagram, you'll also see just how many dogs Eve couldn't bear to home elsewhere, and takes home herself: I don't think I've ever known anyone else who loves dogs as much, with the possible exception of other Underdog team members!

Scooby was found a few months before he came to live with us; he was in very poor health, and initially the team thought he was an old man, because he was so malnourished and unhealthy. He was very, very wary and I believe it took quite some time for the team to manage to actually catch him & bring him in for care - and that trait is still very prevalent in his personality. I think some of it is the breed (Segugio Italiano) because I've got to know other owners, and they are all quite nervous dogs - but I also know that he must have lived through some horrible mistreatment. He's especially nervous of men, and it's taken time to show him that he is safe, loved and home - but through that process of loving him his personality has grown so much! We now think he was probably only around a year old when he was rescued, and not the little old man he first appeared - Underdog had already given him such great care that he was much healthier than when they found him, and since he came home he's continued to put on weight, his coat is shiny and healthy, his teeth much stronger and healthier, and he's full of bouncy, noisy energy.

Hounds can be quite vocal - but for the first few weeks Scooby was here he didn't really make a peep; it took him time to trust us fully, and the first time we heard him bark we were so excited that he was being so brave - now there are days that we wish he'd have a little less to say, because he's a chatty little boy who especially likes to tell us how frustrating he finds it that we eat food we aren't sharing! He will stand across the room and tell us exactly what he thinks, wow wow wowing at us like a stern teacher, then strut off outside to show his displeasure!

He doesn't much like being left alone, and has quite bad separation anxiety, but we've put lots of time, work and patience into helping him understand that he's safe, and that we're always coming back - the first few times he was left alone he made quite a lot of mess, but we kept working with him and building his confidence with it, and now he's a lot less anxious - but he still makes sure we know how he feels! He no longer damages anything (he initially chewed a few things up, but it was short lived!) but he'll take one slipper from each of us and move them to another room, take a pillow off each bed and drop it on the floor, and move everyone's favourite cuddly toys to the bottom of the bed! It's hilarious, because he's clearly very smart, and knows exactly what each person is most attached to or uses most, and without causing any damage at all he just moves things to show how he feels! Luckily I work from home, which was what made this a good fit for him, and he's only really alone for things like the school run or occasional meetings - but there are still some days that he THINKS he's been left alone when we're actually just not in the room he expected, and we catch him in the doorway with a single slipper in his mouth, looking a bit embarrassed to be caught!

He is a stickler for a routine, and if he thinks we've taken too long to stick to the schedule he'll give us a bit of a shout to nudge us along, and gets terribly cross if I don't go to bed when he wants to - his favourite times of day are just after the school run, when it's big walk time, and right after dinner when it's time for his evening mad half hour - he runs in from the garden, barks once to make sure we're involved, then runs back out - he'll always want to play with his favourite toy, his rope, for a good tug of war, then some chasing it around, then he does a few laps up the stairs to jump on beds and thunder back down, barking like a loon with a big grin on his face, and fizzing with energy - then all of a sudden he'll just flop and look at us like we're the loons! He then likes to gather me and the kids all onto a bed so we can have a puppy pile on, and everyone gives him lots of love; if he doesn't think he's being stroked or fussed enough he'll headbutt us and pull our hands onto his chest with his paws, and we are yet to find the limit for how long he'll let that continue!

We knew when we picked Scooby that he had leishmania - which dogs in hot countries can get from sandfly bites - and it can cause lots of health issues if it's not well managed. Luckily, Eve is an absolute wealth of knowledge on this condition, and put me in touch with an equally knowledgeable support group on Facebook, where I've got lots of information, advice and support - and his health is now very well controlled. He has medication (allopurinol) every day, and we get blood tests every six months to ensure he's still doing ok. He's had one round of more significant medication after a flare up, but because I'd been given so much information I knew the early warning signs to look for. Our vet is literally a five minute walk from the house, and he'd never treated a dog with leishmania before Scooby, but he also did a huge amount of research, speaking with vets overseas who had more knowledge, and he's very very well informed now, which is amazing. Scooby loves going to the vets (and if we walk that way he always pulls and whines, trying to get inside, because they make such a fuss of him!)

The one thing that's been difficult is maintaining his nail clipping; because he was malnourished so young his front legs have some deformity, which doesn't hurt him day to day, but clearly causes some stress with nail clipping - and I suspect that he's endured some early experience with trauma on that front, because it's the only time he's ever displayed any kind of aggression - which is, of course, just fear. He never bites, ever, but gets very distressed when he thinks his nails will be touched, and he will put his mouth on our hands - he doesn't bite down, but he's very afraid and letting us know. We've tried working with a couple of groomers, and with the vet, to help this, but it's an ongoing challenge. Still, we've seen how proper behaviour management and kind patience has helped with his other nervous behaviours (the separation anxiety, and his mistrust of men/strangers) so we keep working on it, and trying to build his comfort.

Rescue dogs are always a little more work than a new puppy, they've got life experiences that shape their personality and behaviours, and you have to know that going in; you have to be willing to put the work into helping them feel safe and secure, and training them - but it's so, so worth that work to have a dog like Scooby. He's the best decision we have made, and has made our family so much happier. He brings lots of joy, laughter, love and activity into our lives, and he is such a big personality.

We all love him enormously, and are so glad that we found Underdog, and that Scooby came home.

- Lizzie