From Romania to Merseyside: A fresh start for stray underdog Toby

In June 2021, a bundle of puppies arrived at Dogs Trust Merseyside. Nestled among them was a black, badger-like Collie Cross who would become known as Toby.  

The tiny pooches came to us through our Puppy Pilot scheme, having been illegally smuggled into the UK from Romania. Through the initiative, we help care for and rehome thousands of puppies every year who've been seized at the border.

“The puppies were apparently from the same litter, but none of them looked like each other. Everyone at the centre fell in love with them,” says Clare Rooney, Media Coordinator at Merseyside.

Centre staff knew nothing about Toby’s life up to that point, or if the pups he came in with were actually his brothers and sisters. One thing was for sure: they’d had quite a journey to reach us and would need some extra care and support to get them their forever homes. 

Second time unlucky for Toby

Despite his rocky start to life, Toby was quickly adopted in 2021, but he was sadly returned to us in June 2024. His owner made the difficult choice as he was falling out with the other dog in the home, as he was guarding his toys.

Toby settled back into the routine of centre life. He adored humans, and had many different handlers at the centre who he loved walkies with.

But he did find a few things about life at the centre hard. He sometimes got nervous around other dogs and going to the vets.

Toby was determined and made real progress with Merseyside’s behavioural team. They helped him practise focusing his attention on his human friends before going near other pooches, so he felt less anxious around them.

Staff worked on calming Toby’s nerves at the vets and slowly introduced him to wearing a muzzle. Soon he slipped his muzzle on no problem, which would make vets visits easier in the future.

He also eased into going on walks with other doggy pals away from the centre (even several at one time!)

Toby keeps his paws crossed for forever  

Over a year passed, and despite all his hard work, Toby was still waiting for his forever home.

“We think he was being passed over because of how he looked,” says Clare. “His natural colouring is black with white highlights on his face, but this made him look a lot older than he was.

We told potential adopters that he had been a puppy with us, and that he was still, in fact, a young dog, but he kept being overlooked.”

Toby was in a quieter kennel away from the buzz of the centre. This meant he was hoping on a potential owner falling in love with his online profile. Centre staff made sure it was as up-to-date as possible, and he looked his handsome best on the website. 

By 2026, things started to look up for Toby. Families came to meet him, but to his centre friends’ disappointment, they still weren’t making the final step and adopting him.

Then, a few months later, a couple of over 25 years, Caroline and Hugh, were on a chance visit to Merseyside. They had been looking for a new furry friend to join their family and had already seen Toby’s profile online.

“We'd been looking at the websites of more local centres, but hadn’t seen any dog that seemed quite right for us,” says Caroline.

“We checked out the Merseyside website as we knew we were going to be in the area. When we saw Toby’s picture, my heart leapt, as he looked so similar to our last beloved dog, Bella. We just had to fill out an application form.  

“On reading more, he really appealed to us as a dog who had a lovely character but had been left behind. Then, when we met him, he melted our hearts!” says Caroline, “It was love at first sight!” 

The couple fell for Toby’s cheeky and loving nature and liked the idea of opening their heart and home to an Underdog.

“We had three older rescue dogs in the past, and we’d both had dogs growing up. We’d lost our most recent, Bella, two years ago and both missed having a dog in the house and in our lives,” says the couple.

“We had seen Underdogs on the website and knew that there were many dogs that were harder to rehome for many reasons.

We have always liked the idea of adopting a dog that was overlooked or had challenges if we were able to.” 

It isn’t just about the right dog for the owner, but the right owners for the dog, too, and Caroline and Hugh were the perfect fit for Toby.

“They understood he had been in kennels quite a while. They knew he would need time to settle back into home life,” says Clare.

It felt like everything had slotted into place and Toby had found his second chance at his forever.

The couple stayed and visited daily to learn more about Toby. It was clear how dedicated they were to setting him up for success.

The behaviour team explained the training they had been doing with him, and gave lots of support to the owners to help him cope with the change. The couple also spent a lot of the time with Toby, both alone and with staff.

“We were able to ask all our questions and found everyone so helpful and supportive,” says Caroline.

Staff at the centre also practised Toby going in the car on several of the visits to check he felt as comfortable as possible.

The fifth time Caroline and Hugh visited the centre, their car had a four-legged passenger joining them when they left.

Caroline and Hugh signed on the dotted line, and Toby became a part of their family in May 2026.  

“Toby went home with his big yellow go-home bag and lots of toys from his favourite volunteers,” says Clare. 

Toby relaxes into his new chapter

Caroline and Hugh say his personality has really come out after being a bit shy at first.  

“He relaxed after around a week and started to let us know when he wants something! He has become a member of the family and enjoys snuggling with us on the sofa.”

They add that he is making progress every day, and now chills on his own in another room and comes back to say ‘hi’ when he fancies. Apart from thinking his bed is now theirs, Toby has eased into his next chapter.

“He also gets on better than we thought with other dogs, but it’s still a work in progress, of course,” states Caroline.

Caroline and Hugh are so happy they chose a dog that needed a second chance.

“The great thing about adopting with Dogs Trust is that they make sure dogs are ready to go to a loving home. We got all the potential information about everything that could upset Toby. We were fully prepared,” says Caroline.

“Underdogs all deserve a loving home – give them a chance. Toby has made our lives more complete.”