Taco
Taco
My name is: Taco
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: South London
My favourite things are: Furry rabbit ears, sausages, cheese, yoghurt, and when my parents put some of their food in my kibble. oh and steak i love steak! , playing chase, chasing squirrels, soap bubbles, lounging on the sofa, barking at the shed in the garden, oh! and my best friends Milli and Naima
Taco’s story
Taco was born in Cyprus. A descendent of a local cypriot shepherd (of some unknown variety), Taco lived in the shelter for about five months before we adopted him. We (Steve and Laura), had been thinking about getting a dog, but thought that our full-time work meant we wouldn’t have enough time to properly take care of and properly train a dog.
Since the pandemic our jobs have been way more accepting of hybrid working and after settling into this new work life we realised we could manage and decided to adopt a furry friend. We contacted several rescue organisations but the experience was incredibly frustrating. No one would reply to our applications, except for Eve from Underdog (thanks Eve!) who was incredibly helpful and made sure the whole process ran smoothly. She made sure that we ended up adopting a dog that was most suitable for our lifestyle: Taco. I (Laura) had seen him on the website before and I adored him! He had the most adorable floppy ears and his adoption photos were just too cute. I showed him to Steve and we both agreed that Taco had to come home to us.
Apparently Taco had not received much attention, like so many other dogs, and she was happy for us to proceed with the adoption process. Everything went smoothly and the team at Underdog was very helpful and supportive. Taco was on the next plane (literally) to England. We weren’t expecting things to move so quickly but Underdog provided an amazing foster family for two weeks, which gave us the time we needed to sort everything for Taco on our end. Thank you! When we picked him up from the foster home, one of the first things they said to us were: “you hit the jackpot with Taco” and they were sad to see him go. We did not know at the time, but they turned out to be right. Taco is the best!
Taco’s first weeks at home were full of joy and goofiness. He is the most adorable dog. He very quickly learned that he was now part of our pack and he adjusted perfectly. He has a gentle temperament, gets on well with other dogs and he seems to be able to spot another rescue dog from miles away. We really could not have asked for a better fit. Taco has enriched our lives substantially and it is a joy to have him around.
The positives:
Every day with Taco is a good day! We wake up together and we get greeted with happy wags and lots of slobbery kisses. He forces us to get out of bed and get our lives into a routine that turns out to be only beneficial.
Taco is gentle and very patient. Although being a big dog he adjusts his play to his fellow dogs and its amazing to see!
He is so soft, his fur might not seem like it, but he is very soft.
He knows that he belongs to us no matter what. He trusts us fully, even when I squish his nose, poke his ears or reach deep into his mouth to deposit his flea and worming treatment… (which he won’t eat although its supposed to taste nice…).
He is a goofy and playful chap. He loves to play with us, with others or simply by himself.
He sings. As soon as Steve picks up his guitar, he sings along and it is very cute.
The not-so-positives:
A dog means responsibility. Be aware that this means that you might give up some freedom. We realised that quick holidays by cheap flights are not as easy anymore. But that is fine for us - and plenty of people offer to dog sit.
Be aware that for a while your social life might suffer. We’re lucky because Taco is easy-going, so taking him to the pub was not hard to get him used to. On the other hand you will gain a whole new circle of friends - other dog owners!
Taco needs boundaries. He often tests the boundaries to see what he can get away with and so we need to be consistent with our rules. This can be difficult at times. Training never stops and sometimes this might annoy you as an owner, but it is so incredibly important.
Other people might not be as accepting of your training as you think. Especially in the beginning we encountered people that expected us to have Taco under perfect control which is difficult if you are still in the process of training. Communicating that can be difficult. But we learned to navigate difficult people and situations with time.
Today:
We don't have any negatives to report, really. We enjoy every day with Taco and he is the best thing we have committed to so far. We just got home from a 2.5 week camping trip with him and his best friend Milli (my parent’s rescue dog from Romania). Milli is super shy and had very bad experiences in her previous shelter. Ever since we brought Taco and Milli together we saw how Taco's relaxed attitude and confidence towards people helped Milli overcome her own trust issues, which is awesome. They had the best time together in the south of France playing on the beach and rolling in mud together. We cannot wait to go on the next adventure together!