Fiona is a member of our VIP (Very Important Paws) Team, and chances are, if you’ve ordered from Poppy’s Picnic, her warming Welsh tones will have called you to follow up and see how you’re getting on. Having never imagined having a pet, Fiona has recently adopted a Romanian rescue dog. In this first part of a four part blog series, Fiona shares her experience of adopting her new four-legged friend, Mabel:

I never imagined myself adopting a dog, however here at Poppy’s Picnic we have four adorable, tail-wagging miniature schnauzers called Poppy, Slipper, Katie and Gaby running around HQ. The joy and love they give daily has completely changed my perspective, and I started to consider how I could smuggle one back home with me to Wales – though I’m sure Dylan and Michael would soon notice one was missing!

I first I heard about ‘Pawprints to Freedom Rescue’, a non-profit rescue organisation for dogs in need of a loving home, was after my daughter Luci became involved with their amazing Facebook group. She adopted a nine year old Romanian stray who had previously never had a name – how heartbreaking is that? Now he has his own identity, Murphy, and is an angel. He’s the most intelligent, loving dog and is brilliant with my granddaughter Annabel. He looks at Luci as if she was a Goddess. Seeing how happy they all were made me join the Pawprints to Freedom Rescue Facebook group too, and their photo albums melted my heart!

The lovely ladies who run the group work tirelessly, sometimes 80 hour weeks. They use their own money to travel and visit the shelters in Romania to try and give these dogs some decent food and basic medical care. The dogs are so undernourished that they fight over the little food there is, and some of the injuries sustained are absolutely horrific. Some of these shelters are called ‘kill shelters’ where the dogs are, quite literally, on death row. Perfectly healthy puppies and dogs are put to sleep as there aren’t enough resources to keep them. It makes my stomach turn and my blood boil to think of how horrible this is.

What makes Pawprints to Freedom Rescue so inspiring is that they are always looking for people to offer adoption or foster care, and their priority is getting the dogs on death row to safety first. Luci is involved with the group admin and often posts photo albums of dogs who are desperate to find their forever home.

Two months ago one of the photos caught my eye. In fact, it did more than that … it literally took my breath away. This dog looked identical to a dog I had adored as a child, the spitting image of my childhood best friend, Inky. I thought – was this a sign? I needed a home check before I was able to adopt so I contacted the group immediately and said I really want to adopt her. Unfortunately there were others who were already home checked before me and Luci messaged me to say that my dog had already been adopted. I was gutted but also relieved to know she was out of that awful shelter and in a good home.

A couple of days later, I found out that the lady who wanted my dog decided she wanted a smaller dog instead. As she is a medium, almost large dog, I was told that if I still wanted her, she was mine. I was totally elated as you can imagine, and still am!

As I write, I’ve been told that the day has come and she’ll arrive tomorrow. I’m beside myself with excitement. I’ve been waiting weeks for her and have prepared in the same way you would for a baby, having gone out and bought a beautiful dog bed, slip lead, collar and ID tag, toys, and a cuddly bear.

My freezer is cleared to make room for my first order of Poppy’s Picnic and I can’t wait to try her on the tasty treats too. I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you and to posting photos when she gets here. Feeding Poppy’s Picnic means she will be having fresh, healthy food for the first time in her life. This beautiful girl will lack for nothing from now on I can assure you!

Follow our adventures to see how we get on, and ‘like’ the Pawprints to Freedom Rescue Facebook page to support these incredible ladies in everything they do. They truly are angels in disguise.

Much kindness,

Fiona 

If you have your own experience of adopting, we’d love to hear it. Please post on our Facebook page or email woof@poppyspicnic.co.uk to share your story.