Lola and Koko arrived into our sanctuary when their owner was struggling to meet their needs due to ill health. Two much loved dogs who had only ever known one home, one owner. Arriving at a busy sanctuary full of strange noises, strange dogs and strange people threw both Lola and Koko into fear mode and they spent their first couple of days hiding away in or under their beds, growling as we approached, too afraid to come out. These much loved dogs now found themselves having to try to understand what had happened to their lives.
With patience, love and understanding our kennel team soon won them round and Lola and Koko became the two bouncy, ball mad, playful, loving Springers their previous owner had described to us. We wanted desperately to keep them together but a little part of us also knew we may have to be realistic if the all important “perfect match” for both didn’t arrive, all we could do was pray that it would! We got a few applications in quickly but most were for just one dog, a few were for both but for other reasons they just weren’t right the right home for this bonded pair. Some came in from the UK and Scotland but they were either for just one of them or geographically we had no rescue back up person known to us in the area.
Then we received an application in from a couple in the UK for both Lola and Koko together. Reading through it they ticked all the boxes Lola and Koko needed and, best of all, they lived only 25 mins from one of our former long term, trusted volunteers who could not only homecheck but also act as emergency back up should it be needed. A phonecall and some whatsapp messages later with Lisa and Matt and we were truly convinced that we had the perfect home. Our only concern was there being no meet and greet between the dogs and their potential new family as they would be arriving straight from transport and into their home. But Lisa and Matt proved to us just how much they really wanted to give Lola and Koko a forever home and flew from England to Ireland, hired a car and came to our sanctuary to meet Lola and Koko in person. They had a couple of hours with them before heading back to the airport to fly home. How amazing are they?!
Two weeks ago Lola and Koko arrived in the early hours of the morning to the home of Lisa and Matt who had been eagerly awaiting their arrival since meeting them at our sanctuary a month earlier. It was as though Lola and Koko remembered them and the effort this couple had put in to adopting them. It was all bellyrubs, ear scratches, a welcome breakfast of chicken and pasta before finding their new beds, new toys, their very own garden and, of course, a sofa to cuddle on. It is times like these that we are reminded of the goodness, the kindness and the love that is out there in a world that, at times, for us is full of cruelty and neglect.
We cannot thank Lisa and Matt enough for the lengths they went to so that Lola and Koko could become a part of their wonderful family and home. To say we were blown away by their utter commitment would be an understatement. We hear that Lola and Koko have settled in to family life as though they have always been there. They have started weekly training classes and are growing in confidence daily, There is still much for them to learn and some “tweaking” to be done with their lead training but we know they are with a Mum and Dad who are committed 100% and then some more!
We wish Lola, Koko, Lisa, Matt and their extended family so many wonderful years together having fun, enjoying life and making the most precious of memories.
