For the love of a Spanish Water Dog
For the love of a Spanish Water Dog
" For the love of a Spanish Water Dog"
Dedicated to Millie & Maisie
Our Story
After spending many years living and working in Spain, my husband and I discovered the wonderful world of the Spanish Water Dog (SWD), and instantly fell in love with this beautiful breed.
It took us a couple of years of thorough research and consideration before we finally decided that the time was right to welcome a SWD into our family. During our search, we came across a lovely couple that lived in the Spanish mountains of Andalucia. They had an 8-month-old SWD, and circumstances required them to rehome her before relocating to New Zealand. Without a second thought, we opened our home to Millie, (originally named Coco), and it turned out to be the best decision we've ever made.
From the moment Millie stepped into our lives, it was as if she had always been a part of our family. She settled in instantly and effortlessly, she was happy, contented, and incredibly well behaved, this little ball of fluff has bought us endless smiles and laughter into our lives.
Fast forward to now and Millie is 11 years old, she lives with us back in the UK in Lincolnshire, has an amazing life and had the most incredible 11 years. I have been very lucky in the fact that Millie has me at home with her all the time so we spend our days swimming at the beach, trekking around the woods, wandering the countryside, everyday somewhere different.
We have been very fortunate that she has the most sweetest nature, loves humans, amazing with all the children, just the most remarkable, and beautiful little Millie.
Our journey with her shows the true magic of the Spanish Water Dog breed, and we want to share that experience with you.
Millie
Millie & Maisie
And then came Maisie
Now, this is a completely different journey….
We made the decision to welcome another SWD into our family. In October 2022, we had the offer of rehoming and rescuing Maisie from a breeder, (using that term loosely.)
Maisie, who was six years old at the time, had endured multiple litters and a life confined to a crate. The conditions she had experienced were unimaginable, she arrived stinking, matted fur, infections, the list goes on, it was heartbreaking.
Terrified by the world around her, Maisie had never had the opportunity to explore life outside the confines of her crate. During the initial weeks, we provided her with a crate in an attempt to create some secure surroundings for her but she would curl up tightly, refusing to venture out unless no one was nearby. Witnessing her deep fear was the saddest thing we had ever seen. over a period of a few months she very slowly settled in to our home, with endless patience and time and being with her constantly she slowly gained my trust and the transformation began.
After approximately four months, we finally managed to coax her outside for her first walk, as she initially resisted leaving the safety of our front door. Walking proved challenging due to her lack of muscle mass in her legs, which had never been used and were quite weak. However, over the course of a year, Maisie learned to play, run, swim, chase balls, and loves her belly rubs—embracing all the joys that normal dogs experience. She discovered a love for the beach, the woods, car rides and holidays—a newfound love for life.
It has been an difficult journey, but Maisie's transformation is nothing short of remarkable. the most happiest, sweetest, loving little girl, Though she remains still very nervous and has only recently begun to warm up to my husband, each day she grows in confidence and embraces the love-filled life she deserves.
From a broken, damaged, scared stinking ball of fluff to a confident happy running free little Maisie....... Anything is possible, we must never give up on these dogs.
Meet ups - Events - Shows
If you have any upcoming events, meetups, or shows that you would like to advertise or promote, please feel free to contact me via email. I would be more than happy to include them on our events page.
