“I first saw Conor on the Pointers In Need Facebook page last year and thought how gorgeous he was. But, in all his pictures, he looked sad and worried”, says Trish who adopted Conor, a handsome four-year- old, Black and White Pointer boy.
Now Conor, from Nafpaktos in Greece, is happy and relaxed and living his best life in Gloucestershire.
“He reminded me of our Paddy, one of the very first dogs to be helped by Pointers In Need many years ago, who made his home with us and who we lost about 4 years ago.
“Then in October 2024 Claire, CEO of Pointers In Need, posted requesting an urgent Foster home for Conor as he wasn’t happy in the Rescue kennels.
“We had lost 3 of our guys over the course of 2024, so we felt we were in a position to offer Conor a home, and I missed having a black and white boy! So I offered Conor a Foster home, which actually changed onto his forever home before he even arrived!
“Initially he was booked to come over in November 2024, but there was an issue with the transport. Then December: but heartworm had showed up in a routine blood test. He wasn’t unwell, but it obviously had to be treated. I researched heartworm as we had never had a dog with it, and we decided we still wanted to take him.
“The vet in Greece decided it was better for him to complete the full course of treatment before he travelled to the UK, and we were then advised he could not travel to us until August 2025, which was such a shame for him. We said, of course, we would still have him and that we would wait. As we waited, with two 12 year old Pointers Big Ned from Serbia, and Smithy from Spain, and an 8 year old Romanian girl, Poppy, we agreed to foster Cassie, a 4 year old from Cyprus.
“We kept in touch with the Rescue Shelter and Claire and the Team at Pointers In Need, to see how he was doing. In February we were advised he was doing so well that the vet had agreed he could travel – they obviously wanted him in a home asap! So he came to us at the end of February this year.
“I was expecting him to be quite nervous and to take a long time to find his feet. He had never lived in a house before and had not really been happy in the Rescue. He had days travelling to get to us, didn’t know us or our other dogs etc etc.
“We do have the facility to separate dogs in our house, so did that for the first few days to let him rest and decompress. He had a covered crate in a quiet corner with a big bed in it and he loved this.
“The first few days he literally just slept, ate, went out in the garden, and slept some more. He never seemed scared of us which was good and he seemed curious about the other dogs. They are all rescues too, and nice and calm (mostly!).
“After a couple of days we introduced Conor to Cassie. Cass was extremely scared and nervous when she came to us. It took her weeks to want to even cautiously venture into the same room as us. She adored big, gentle Ned and he really helped her to gain confidence . Unfortunately, we lost Ned in May.
Conor and Cass got on straight away and we then kept those two together. They shared the crate, and the bed, even though there were 2 of each available. She has spent more time with Conor and has massively gained confidence now.
“Conor is actually a quiet boy with lovely calm energy, and Cassie found being with him very reassuring. They definitely helped each other settle in. Cass has done so well. We’re going to adopt her too!
“After a couple more days we did gradual introductions to the others and all went very smoothly. So we left the crate insitu, but left the room doors open whilst we were there so the dogs could choose where they wanted to be. We did still separate Conor and Cass from the others at night for a while longer.
“Conor settled in much quicker than I anticipated. He loved spending time in the garden from Day One. He barely had any ‘accidents’ in the house. He ate well.
“He started indicating that he would like to come out for walks with the others about 2 weeks after he arrived. So we double-leaded him and he just followed! No drama, he loved it. He sniffs everything but actually walks very well on the lead. He is very interested in cats or squirrels etc if he sees them!
“We started taking them all to the secure dog field so he and Cassie could run off lead safely, and we could work on their recalls. Roast chicken definitely helps!! They both got really quite good but we still only let those two off in the secure field: don’t feel confident yet when out and about.
“Conor soon very definitely discovered that sofas are comfortable. He is an absolute sun worshipper, finding any little sunny spot to lie in the house, or, even better, in the garden.
“Our garden is gravel – the lawn was destroyed by multiple dogs – and we tend to put a throw down for the dogs to lie on. Conor has this sussed now. He goes into the garden and stands on the steps, just looking, and waiting. As soon as you put the throw down, he’s on it!!
“He has got more and more affectionate as he’s felt more at home, and now loves cuddles and being stroked. He has started resting his head on my lap when he’s next to me on the sofa, which is lovely. He sometimes just comes up for strokes, then goes to lie down. He’s not a needy boy.
“Without doubt our other dogs have helped him settle in. They all love going away in our camper van. So far, Conor has been to Wales a couple of times, he loves the beaches , hills and woodland walks.
“He also does the most adorable ‘happy tappy’ dance when he’s excited.”
Adopted by Trish Duncan
