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A happy tail from Hippo!

Published 10th April 2024

Last year, L.A.A. was desperately trying to find Hippo, a young XL Bully, her perfect home before new legislation came into effect.  We were so happy, that just in time, a new family came forward and she’s been in her forever home for four months.  As well as a new home, she has a new name, Honey.

Honey’s Mum, Ali, shares the adoption journey….
We had our wonderful dog Yogi, a Rottweiler, rescued from The Dogs Trust put to sleep in November 2023, and we were in utter shock and devastation after he was gone.

I said to Baz that we would wait for a while until we got another dog. It was whilst Baz was in hospital again, in December, that I decided that it was too lonely on my own, so when he came home, I suggested that we get another dog. He agreed and we decided to visit Leicester Animal Aid. 

The Centre wasn’t open, but we bumped into the General Manager, Keely, who advised us to come back the next day.  As we were leaving, I saw Hippo in the training barn, she was sticking her little nose out of the gate, and I said to Baz, ‘oh look at that dog, isn’t she beautiful’ and he agreed. One of the kennel assistants explained that she would become a banned breed at the end of the year and her future was uncertain if she didn’t have an owner.  I was suddenly very tearful and said that I wanted to come and see her the next day.

We arrived the next day and said we were interested in meeting Hippo.  Keely kindly explained everything that we would have to commit to if we decided to adopt her.  Whilst we agreed to this, our fence wasn’t tall enough, so we looked in the adoption book at other dogs but then turned the page back to her and asked if there was a way round the issue. There was and we got a higher fence before she came home!

We met her and we both fell in love there and then, in the kennel assistant’s words, she was a little ‘giddy’ and was curious about everything, they called her curious George!

It was decided that we definitely wanted her and, as time was running out, we agreed wholeheartedly to sign the documentation for her to become our new dog!  We then went to see her every day so she could start to form a bond with us.

It was a wonderful introduction that the staff provided for us, giving us their insights, thoughts, and experiences they had had with Hippo but generally, their experience with any dog, there was a wealth of knowledge that was welcomed by us, and we felt extremely grateful to them for their time and effort, and not forgetting their help.

We have been back and forth to L.A.A. since adopting her, to see the Vet, which is paid for under the adoption scheme, and for their generous offer of us being able to use their private field and barn at certain times, for her to have a run around.  The marvelous staff have always been just a phone call away, for any questions we have had, and reassurance that we are doing the right things for her.

But back to the reason all this came about, Honey, our wonderful dog, she is amazing, she is so good with going to the garden for her wees and poos, she has only had a couple of accidents in the house, thank goodness for laminate floors and a tiled kitchen!

She is extremely loving and very sweet, she snuggles up with either Baz or myself on the sofa, and then she falls asleep and snores, little beauty.  All in all, our story is a success, we went to see what dog we would find, and we fell in love with an XL Bully, who is gentle, loving and gorgeous, she is in her little routine with us, and she loves it. She follows Baz around the house when I’m not in and vice versa. Baz calls her his Velcro dog and he adores every inch of her, she certainly knows that we are her pack and we will always treat her with respect and love.

People might think that she is the lucky one, but we feel that we’ve won the lottery with her, she is so sweet and lovely, and on our walks, we often get such a positive reaction, and people ask if they can fuss her, and she loves it.

Thanks so much for everything L.A.A. you are like part of our family now, and we can’t fault you in any way, you are truly amazing!! Everyone who has been a part of our success at LAA we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.