Although my parents had a dog when I was younger, I’ve never had one myself, until 2 years ago when Roxy came into our family…..

I had mentioned to Mr Grump that I would love to have a dog; he loves all animals so was definitely in agreement. We also thought it would be lovely for Miss Hap to have a pet to love and learn how to look after. Of course, we wanted to make sure that we got the right dog for us, that would fit into our family, and that we would be able to give the right care to.I had also done a bit of research online as well, to see what types of dog were good with children, and amongst my favourites were the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

We decided that we wanted to get a rescue dog if possible, as there are so many pets that need re-homing. We contacted a few centres locally but they mostly had large dogs or staffies, which I didn’t think would be right for us. I e-mailed one centre and asked to be considered if they had any small dogs that needed placing, left my contact details and left it at that.

About a fortnight later when I got in from work Mr Grump asked me to phone the rescue centre which I did. They informed me that a young mum with 5 kids,and a puppy that she couldn’t take care of as it was too boisterous!  She needed them to come and get it NOW before she dumped it. The rescue centre asked if I would be interested which of course I was. All she knew was that it was a Cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy, just what we were looking for. I contacted the woman direct who invited us to come and see her. we were straight on the motorway and an hour later met little Roxy for the first time…..

We were all instantly smitten with her. She was so excited to see us, jumping up at us, tail going like the clappers; she had actually been very well looked after, she was microchipped and had all her injections; the harassed woman just came to the end of her tether as she had so much going on!  We ended up taking her home with us that evening along with all of her paraphernalia! The rescue centre were amazed when we told them, but thrilled that Roxy had got a new loving home.

On the journey home, Roxy snuggled into my lap, and was as good as gold. She settled in with us so quickly it was unbelievable.Mr Grump took charge of feeding her and taking her out for walks, and Roxy absolutely adores him! About a week after getting her we took her to the beach.  I went in for a swim with my sister and her labrador Milo came bounding in after us. Two minutes later I saw this little face and flapping ears working its way towards me, Roxy wanted to join in.

Of course, she soon knew how to get around Mr Grump, and he spoils her rotten! She sits on his lap in the evenings and trots off after him everywhere, as she knows that she will often get an extra treat, looking up at him with her beguiling eyes. She sleeps in our room (her little bed didn’t last long), but always noses into Miss Hap’s room before bed to make sure she is ok!

She does get a little jealous though if Mr Grump shows affection to anyone (or anything else). If I ever dare to sit with Mr Grump then she will either turn her back on us, and sulk, or she will paw at me trying to get me away!  She doesn’t like being late for her walk either and if Mr Grump thinks he might get a sneaky lie-in on the weekend he is very much mistaken. She will jump on his head to wake him up, then race downstairs and bark at the coat rack until he gets his jacket on to go out.

I feel so blessed that we have Roxy in our lives… it was such a coincidence how we came to get her, and I am so pleased that she is now a member of our family.