Marvellous Maggie is up for Adoption!

Name: Maggie
Breed: Collie type
DOB: 01.09.2021

Health: Maggie is a fit and healthy young dog who is spayed and up to date with her preventative treatments

Loves: Spending all day with her humans, using her agility set, freedom time off lead in quiet, private and safely enclosed areas, evening cuddles in bed, learning new things, playing impulse control games with her ball, tasty treats and making people smile. She truly is a joy.

Dislikes: Being taken into overwhelming situations without time to get used to new surroundings, and being left by herself.

Ideal new caregiver: A Collie savvy, child and pet free adult/ couple who are looking to match the loyalty and love she offers. Someone patient; with a passion for dog training, a love of watching her reach confidence building milestones and with a top priority of meeting her needs as well as their own. Experience with ‘reactivity’ (big feelings surrounding overwhelming situations) would be extremely beneficial.

Ideal home environment: Ideally an accommodation with ample private outside space, applicants with smaller outside spaces will be considered too but would need to be especially committed to taking her to private hire exercise areas regularly (this will be arranged by the charity during her foster/ settling in period).

The home would ideally be in a quiet location without a busy road outside so as to not encourage her tendency to herd moving traffic, although with dedicated caregivers and careful management this can be worked around.

Applicants living in highly populated areas will need to commit to driving Maggie to quiet walking areas especially at first, ensuring she can practice being in new environments at her own pace. As you may have seen from Maggie’s videos she has dog friends whom she walks with on lead, however seeing new dogs whilst out on a walk is overly exciting for her and sometimes she can become overwhelmed with everything going on in busy places.

Maggie had a tough time before she came to us but that is long behind her, she has reached so many milestones since becoming a rescue dog on September 29th 2022. Maggie has demonstrated the way she settles into a compatible home environment beautifully during her 6 month foster period, she has a bright future ahead of her and can’t wait to meet her forever family.

1 year old Collie Whippet Maggie became a rescue dog on September 29th 2022 in very sad circumstances.
Many people take on a high drive working breed puppy with unrealistic expectations regarding how to meet their basic needs, including the amount of time and effort that is needed on their own part. Maggie is a total sweetheart who would never have become a rescue dog if only her breeders had handed her to a more compatible home. She is an energetic, quick-thinking, fast-acting, intensely loving and very bright little sidekick and more than anything she deserves someone who fully understands her. Maggie is an incredibly resilient dog who is said to have been passed to two more incompatible homes before being handed in to us.


To watch one of Maggie’s earlier video diaries about her history please click here. Her life has improved greatly since then, and you can find up to date video diaries on our social media.

In a relaxed home environment with an understanding caregiver we saw Maggie’s anxieties melt away. She is a hilarious and bouncy youngster who wants to play, learn, explore and interact with people in a positive way. Although naps and cuddle time are some of her favourite things, the expectation of her being calm on her bed all day is unrealistic. Life is meant to be fun!

Maggie couldn’t have wished for a better set up in foster care where she stayed for 6 months. She returned to kennels when her foster dad found out he would be relocating, he had this to say: ‘I fostered beautiful Maggie for six months and she is the most friendly/loyal/clever dog that I have fostered from Spirit of the Dog Rescue . Had my life circumstances not changed I would have adopted her and there is NO WAY that she would be back in kennels.’

At an age where Maggie was beginning to navigate adolescence, her foster dad was home all day, spending the majority of time outside with her on their private and safely enclosed land which consisted of multiple acres of fields and woodland. For the first time in her life she had been able to fully decompress with no overwhelming distractions and her stress levels were at an all time low. This time had such a positive and profound impact on her nervous system that even when she returned to kennels, she maintained lower stress levels.

Maggie’s forever home doesn’t need to have this amount of outdoor space for her to be happy and fulfilled so please don’t be put off of applying on the basis that you cannot replicate this environment, the skills she has learned in foster will be a huge help for her during the transition into a new home and guidance is given throughout. Maggie has been visiting enclosed, private hire woodlands and fields regularly since her return to kennels which can be arranged post adoption too.

Maggie has benefitted tremendously from this opportunity to really find her feet, she loves to use her nose, following scent trails out in nature and she uses this skill to play hide and seek with her favourite toys.

Maggie has learned lots of things such as incredible self control to ‘stay’ patiently in position whilst her favourite ball is hidden or thrown, waiting for a release cue to retrieve it. The distance and duration she has also built up is extremely impressive!

Once over excited at the sight of a lead and harness and so wiggly that getting dressed took a lot of time, she now stays calm when seeing someone holding her equipment. She waits to be called over to get dressed and does so with grace.

Once so enthusiastic about food she couldn’t contain herself, she now knows that meals are consistent and has beautiful manners at feed times as well as when humans are eating.

Maggie’s caregiver had no need to leave her but had gradually built up to 30 minutes alone time whilst they went to the local shop for food, she hadn’t been destructive indoors during this time but was eagerly awaiting their return. When she is learning to build duration being left in her new home, her caregivers will be loaned indoor CCTV equipment and offered support with which methods work best.

Maggie loves having her own agility set, gifted by Pets Foundation. She is so clever and sporty, bounding over jumps and flying through tunnels with confidence. It doesn’t take her long at all to learn with clear instructions, lots of well timed praise and a fun environment.

Now that Mags has come this far and developed solid bonds with her foster carer and kennel aunties, it is time to step up the game with even more counter conditioning, rewarding her for making the safest and most desirable choices as well as looking at various stimuli calmly. (Don’t worry if this is new to you, Maggie’s adopters will receive classes before she goes home, have plenty of practice time as well as ongoing support just as all Spirit of the Dog adopters do)

Maggie is seeking a family who will earn her trust by providing a stable, predictable home. She longs for someone who wants to really get to know her and reciprocate her loyalty and adoration. Someone patient and kind who will support her with settling into a whole new world at her own pace.

When Maggie became a rescue dog she spent 4 months in kennels, this was a vital stepping stone on her journey to adoption and meant that she had a stable, predictable routine and knowledgeable caregivers for the first time. She then spent 6 months in foster care which ended through no fault of her own and is now back in the familiar routine at the kennels where we make her days as fun as possible for her.

The way Maggie managed when she initially arrived in kennels was truly a statement about her character. Despite the situation she had found herself in and her previous trauma, she initially embraced having a predictable and stable routine with consistent caregivers. She took it in her stride as best as she could and further demonstrated her brilliant, resilient nature.

Maggie learned that humans meant only good things, that there was nothing to fear from those she was now with which was a huge turning point in her life. She began learning that she could express herself in a variety of constructive ways with the comfort and security of knowing that the humans around her, whom she had bonded closely to would keep her safe.

She absolutely loves visiting ‘The Bark Park Woodland Adventure’ regularly with her key volunteer, it is an enclosed woodland for private hire in Rettendon, Essex. Another favourite place of hers is ‘Dogs Enriched‘ which is an indoor activity wonderland! Maggie also thoroughly enjoys her sessions with trainer Fiona from ‘All4Paws’, behaviourists Cieron and Daniella from ‘Cor Anima‘, and behaviourist Daniel from Animal Behaviour Kent. We are endlessly grateful to them all for donating the time she spends with them.

As you may have already seen from her social media video diaries, Maggie is a playful whirlwind who loves to learn and can adapt well once she’s had the chance to learn a new routine without pressure to do things she’s not ready for.

Although Mags has a good quality of life with us, she is desperate to progress out of kennels once more and into a forever home. For a girl who is passionately loyal and loving it can be difficult at times for her to understand why she can’t always have access to affection on request and the evening cuddles in her human’s bed which she adored in foster care and previous home.

Are you still reading this thinking she might be your perfect match? Please send us your application form to start the conversion! If you are unable to apply we ask that you please consider kindly sharing her story with your friends and family.