Growing up with Zoe

Every couple reaches a stage in their relationship where the ‘next steps’ conversation comes up. In Haidee and her partner’s case, this conversation was all about getting their first dog together!

Thirteen years later, the pair are happily married with children and still loving life with their girl Zoe. 

 “Zoe was the little pup to make my partner and I a family. She didn't leave us when we started bringing home screaming babies to join our once quiet home.”

Haidee had some reservations about adopting a larger dog purely because she would be the one taking on the training, daily walks and a lot of the interactions as her partner worked long hours.

Haidee had some great conversations with Zoe’s foster carer, who provided advice to set Zoe up for success as she grew.

“We thought she was adorable but was worried about how big she might get. Her foster carer assured us that with the right training as a pup she would be fine to walk on my own. I'm so glad we took her direction.”

Zoe was part of the family before children came along for Haidee and her husband, which meant once their little bundle of joy arrived, new routines would be in place. Even though the initial crying noises made Zoe nervous, she was able to adjust very quickly. Zoe was never forced to interact with the baby, and her humans allowed her to come and sniff when she was ready. 

Haidee laughed and said:

“When my son would cry, you would hear the doggie door flap because Zoe would go outside to get some space from the noise, but once he got older and began eating solids they started to form a positive relationship because he kept dropping food on the floor”

The family continued to expand, which meant Haidee and her husband needed to be an example to their young children in interacting with a dog. She happily said that her children were always very gentle with Zoe, which has led to a wonderful relationship as they all grew up.

The family has even started fostering dogs in the last few years with their local group, Dog Rescue Newcastle as they wanted to help large mix-breed dogs just like Zoe find homes. When asked about what Zoe thought about having foster friends in her home, Haidee said:

“She loves being a solo dog but enjoys the occasional visitor. If we get a young dog, it brings her back to her puppy days”

Haidee has used the PetRescue platform from the perspective of both pet search and foster carer, and said it was really useful to see what was out there when she was in the process of finding the right pet. 

While ‘dogs’ are the most popular pet search on PetRescue, big dogs take 58% longer to find a home when compared to small dogs; read more here.

Learn more about introducing pets to your baby here.

Read about how to keep your kids and dogs safe here.

Click here to find more pets like Zoe looking for love.

Click here to start your foster journey.

All images are provided by the owner.