News of happy endings

Hagrid

Hagrid arrived at Gables as a stray back in 2015 and he has been enjoying lots of adventures in his forever home over the last 8 years and has now moved to the small island of Shapinsay. He was very nervous when he arrived with us and very little was known about his background. His new owners have worked wonders with him and say “We’ve never been sure of his age but Hagrid must be at least 9 or 10 years old now. However, other than sleeping a little more, he certainly has loads of energy and still gets very excited for his daily walk on the beach.

the house, as he was very wary and scared of strangers and would bark and growl. With fantastic guidance from Gables, we overcame this problem and Hagrid now loves company and will actively go to strangers for a fuss and a cuddle. He is the most placid and friendly dog (although we remain careful with him).

scared dog with quite a lot of baggage (we had a lot in common from the start!!!).The transformation has been amazing and that’s thanks to Gables!

Your aftercare as a rescue home was fantastic and we always felt supported with whatever problem we faced. It just goes to show that every dog deserves a chance!

Jess

Wonderful

After his initial difficult start in life, Hagrid has turned into the most wonderful dog. When we first adopted him, we had to be very careful of people entering

Hagrid now lives on the small island of Shapinsay, an outer island of Orkney and he absolutely loves it and everyone loves him. He attracts a lot of attention wherever he goes! He enjoys catching the ferry backwards and forwards to mainland Orkney, with the crew making a great fuss of him. We also adopted another dog Tilly (in 2016) as a companion for Hagrid. They are inseparable and such good fun together.

Loves

We often think back to the early days when Hagrid first came to live with us. It was actually quite terrifying, as he was a very

Jess arrived at Gables in November 2021. She came from a multi dog household so hadn’t experienced the outside world.As a result she had not been socialised with other dogs or strangers so she was very nervous. It took almost 11 months for her to find her perfect forever home but she is now flourishing and she has definitely landed on her paws with her new family. She even went on her first holiday recently and she had great fun exploring the local beaches.

Her new owner said; “Jess has been getting on very well with us, she’s really settled in and is enjoying her new home. She’s even made some dog friends on her walks which is lovely to see. She’s loved by us all and is definitely the star of the show!”

Chilly

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We are very lucky to have Hagrid and Tilly as companions; as a family unit we are inseparable and like it that way!

A huge, massive thank you to all of you. Your valuable work goes well beyond Gables!”

Chilly arrived at Gables as a very nervous stray in April 2022. He had tested positive for Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which is contagious to other cats. This meant he would need to be rehomed as an indoor cat to safeguard his health and the health of neighbouring cats. When he arrived he would avoid human contact and would hide away most of the time. After nearly six months of hard work and dedication from the staff in the cattery Chilly started to realise that people were not that scary and once he learnt this he very quickly became a cuddle monster. He would snuggle into people and was happy to be picked up and stroked, he had made huge progress during his time with us. In December 2022 a lovely couple decided to offer him his forever home. He is now ruling the roost in his new home and can be found supervising every activity. He has become a very sociable and friendly house cat now - which is in stark contrast to the petrified stray he was when he first arrived!

Thomas and Coco were two very nervous cats when they first arrived in our care and the most we saw of them for the first few months were their glowing eyes peeking out of an igloo. After almost a year in our care their perfect home came along with a very experienced and patient couple who warmly welcomed them into their home.

Their new owners sent us this lovely update.

“We are so happy we decided on taking Coco & Thomas into our household. We knew it would be a challenge with both of them being of a nervous disposition, more especially Thomas, but thought that the rewards of settling them down comfortably here would be worth the patience required.

Coco is best described as a lovable, curious foodie. She tends to lead the way and really seems to look out for Thomas. She loves a tickle and a groom with a brush and has one of the most expressive tails we have ever seen in a cat. An absolute ‘sweetie’ as my wife Jo calls her. It didn’t take Coco too long to look into every nook and cranny inside the house, but on one occasion when we thought she was fast asleep in our office, she had managed to climb the ladder into our loft and went on an adventure with us oblivious of her whereabouts. It was only a number of hours later we realised she was missing, at her food time, and on opening up the loft again, she sheepishly descended the steps with her head covered in cobwebs. Unfortunately it happened again, but this time she took Thomas with her overnight and as we couldn’t coax them down, we had to spend the night with earplugs in whilst they charged up and down on the floorboards in the loft. They had great fun!

Thomas as we knew, is extremely nervous and we hardly ever saw him during the day. He would run away if either of us approached. Three months on and there has been good progress. He no longer hides away unless both of us are too close for comfort. He has started to play happily, chasing rolled up pieces of paper (yes, their favourite ‘toy’) and will take his preferred Dreamies from your hand, allowing a little tickle on his head. They both like looking out of the French doors at all the bird activity in the garden and although Coco did go outside briefly, she wasn’t too keen to stay there, preferring her safe place. We look forward to springtime, when they can venture out if they choose to.”

Strawberry and Venus

In June 2021 4 dogs were brought to Gables from a multi dog household. They were all very nervous as they had not experienced anything outside of the four walls of the home. After 5 months at Gables Venus, now renamed Dolly, went to a lovely new home. Eleven months later she was reunited with another dog from the same home as her new owners offered a home to Strawberry, now renamed Ethel.

a home environment, thanks largely to our very kind, and gentle resident dogs. She is now a happy and playful girl, albeit with various quirks!

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Their new owner said ‘’In 2021 we wished to expand our doggy family, so got in touch with Gables. We were fairly open to breed, age, temperament etc., having owned all kinds of dogs before, some with behavioural issues caused by their previous life. It wasn’t long before we were matched with Dolly (formerly ‘Venus’), a Cockapoo/Maltese cross. She came to Gables with several others from a multi-dog household, where their basic needs weren’t being met. As she was so nervous of people, particularly men, many visits were made to gain her trust before adoption. Dolly quickly flourished in several were

Fast forward to 2022, and with Dolly now settled, we knew we had space for one more! This time we were introduced to Ethel (formerly ‘Strawberry’). Rescued from the same household as Dolly, she had been at Gables for some time due to her behavioural issues requiring an experienced home. Again, lots of visits, and many bits of chicken later, she warmed to us, and we were allowed to bring her home.

Yes it has been challenging at times particularly with housetraining, and navigating their individual fears, but it’s been so rewarding to see them become confident and relaxed. The duo are inseparable, constantly playing, and increasingly up to mischief. They will never be ‘normal’ dogs, but they are so loved, and have made our family complete.’’