Layla's Story

1.⁠ ⁠What made you choose to adopt not shop?

Whilst travelling through Asia and the Middle East, we fell in love with the strays we encountered in every country. Despite living on the streets, they were always so full of love, good-natured, and playful! When we settled down in London, we knew that if we were to get a dog, it would need to be a street dog, because of the bonds we'd formed with strays on our travels.

We already had two cats at home, so finding a cat-friendly rescue was a top priority. Lucky for us, wadi dogs are notoriously good with cats, and when we came across Layla's profile under the category 'cat-friendly', the deal was sealed when we saw the size of her ears!

2.⁠ ⁠⁠What is Layla's backstory?

Layla was spotted dodging traffic with her sister, Luna, in Al Mouj. They were both around 6-7 month old pups at the time. The kind-hearted person who spotted them picked the sisters up and took them home, and Layla was taken under the care of The Wave Cats & Dogs Rescue.

3.⁠ ⁠⁠What was the most surprising thing you found about adopting a street dog?

How well behaved Layla is! Although she spent time in foster learning good habits before coming to the UK, the first months of her life were spent on a street. In spite of this, she is extremely good-natured, non-reactive, and ready to cuddle!

Another surprising thing about her is her lack of food motivation, which I would have expected from a street dog. Training her has been easy as she's very smart, but when she's bored of it, no amount of cheese or cat food can change her mind.

Finally, we were surprised by how good a guard dog Layla is. She is extremely protective of our home, but seems to know instinctively who is a friend and who is a stranger. Street dogs seem to have a very deep sense of intuition.

4.⁠ ⁠⁠What were some challenges, and how did you overcome them?

Her first three nights were tough because she HOWLED the house down at night. Layla sleeps downstairs as upstairs is a 'safe space' for the cats, so we think it was a mixture of a new environment, separation anxiety, and generally not understanding what was happening to her or where she was! Although it was so tough to sit through her cries, when we didn't respond (even though every bone in our body wanted to) she settled down to sleep and after the fourth night she had already learned her new routine!

During the first 3 months Layla pushed some boundaries. She would take objects she knew weren't hers (slippers, the remote control, glasses case) and chew them at the bottom of the stairs whilst I worked in the office upstairs. Working with a behaviourist we learned that it was attention-seeking behaviour that should simply be ignored. After a few days of ignoring any attention-seeking, Layla's naughty habits disappeared altogether.

We faced smaller, expected challenges too. She was petrified of buses and lorries when she first arrived in London. She also did not like many men, and would growl at them when taken by surprise. There were also certain roads she was fearful of. With a lot of reassurance that she is now safe, and with us becoming her 'safe space', Layla has completely grown out of these behaviours, and now we take her everywhere, from the pub to the coffee shop to a road trip around Europe!

5.⁠ ⁠⁠How did your wadi change your life?

Layla is our first dog, and she's brought so much joy and pride. She's an incredible ambassador for rescues and street dogs, and everybody who meets her loves her. She's helped us make friends in our local community because she's so sociable - I met one of my closest friends because Layla decided she wanted to be friends with her dog!

6.⁠ ⁠⁠What is your favourite thing about your wadi?

Choosing just one thing is impossible! But if I had to pick one... it would be how gentle Layla is, both in how she approaches you and her overall vibe. Most people who meet her say she has kind eyes, and she truly has a heart of gold!

Adopted in March 2023 

To give a dog like Layla a home, take a look at our dogs still waiting for their forever home!