By Tara Gladstone

Name:

Goose (she has a surname too: Knippenberg).

Age:

14 weeks old.

Gender:

Girl.

Breed:

She’s a Bedlington Terrier x Miniature Poodle (!). I never thought I’d own anything Miniature but here we are.

Favourite Food:

Hmm. Anything that isn’t actually food. Some examples include: her vast toy collection, socks, slippers and even her bed. She does like food, just not as much as slippers.

Sum up their character in no more than 10 words:

Small, extremely mighty, inquisitive and good for the soul.

What impact have they had on your life?

Goose came into our (me and my boyfriend Charlie) life extremely quickly. We picked her up 12 days after we met her - it was fast but it was amazingly fun to figure everything out that quickly. 

Goose has flipped our life around in a really wonderful way. I grew up with lots of dogs, and had an amazing, wonderful and one-in-a-lifetime dog until recently called Shadow who lived to 16. 

But wow, I had forgotten what having a puppy is like. She is a tornado of total chaos and total joy. We have only had Goose for 3 weeks but we learn so much, together, every single day. It’s a joy, and I’m very tired. It’s so cool to see her confidence grow, and to see her understand life more each day. She has also made Charlie a morning person which is truly a miracle. 

How did they come into your life?

We knew we wanted a dog. We met a Bedlington x Poodle through our good friend Flo Reekie and we knew that was the breed for us. We missed out on a litter, and found Goose the next day. She was ready to come home that week. It felt fast but my mum convinced me it was fate so we went for it. If there’s such a thing as minus regret, then I have that (as in, even less than zero regrets). Sometimes decisions are made for you!

Why them? Why now?

Charlie and I have been together for 12 years. I’ve grown up surrounded by dogs, and he hasn’t (his brother is really allergic). I have been gently putting the pressure on for years, and this was the right time for many reasons.