Sussex dog finds 'perfect home' after six years in kennels

Nine-year-old Mikey found his ‘perfect home’ after spending 1,355 days in Dogs Trust Shoreham’s care.

The Cocker Spaniel was originally handed to the charity in 2016 due to a change in his previous owner’s family commitments.

He was adopted after only a few weeks in kennels but was sadly later returned, in March 2019, after showing aggression in the home.

Mikey was adopted again twice after this, but a similar pattern occurred where his behaviour was too difficult to manage.

After his last return to Dogs Trust, he spent one and half years at Harefield before being made a Sponsor Dog, and eventually relocated to the more rural Shoreham rehoming centre.

Determined to get him another chance at finding his ‘forever home’, carers at Dogs Trust continued to work with Mikey to improve his handling, and his ability to cope with everyday life before he went back up for rehoming.

He was rehomed earlier this year to owners, Andrew and Sophie Gifford, who spent months building up a relationship with Mikey and learning all about his training plans before taking him home for good.

The couple said: “Mikey has settled in unbelievably well. Upon arriving home, he immediately went to his bed, checked out his toys and ran into the garden to explore.

“Within 30 minutes he was curled up having a little snooze!

“He settled himself in what has now become his ‘favourite spot’ on cushions in front of the window and snoozed the evening away!

“He has shown a lot of affection, frequently coming over to say hi and ask for a scratch behind his ears.”

The couple added that they have been ‘really pleased with the results' of the training plan which has helped them achieve success with their new pup.

“We've been able to let him off the lead a couple of times and worked on recall - he has got 10/10 every time!"

If you would like to find out more about rehoming a pooch from Dogs Trust Shoreham, visit: www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming.