A Tale of Two Romanian Rescue Dogs
The intriguing differences between my two little girls!
Cassi and Delphi are two rescue dogs from Romania. They both came from the same charity, Rocky Road Rescue, which brings cats and dogs from Romanian shelters to the UK.
In the three weeks we’ve had Delphi, I’ve noticed the stark difference between their initial settling-in period. It’s possible that Cassi being the resident dog was helpful for Delphi, but I think it’s more their personalities and backgrounds.
When you adopt a dog from Romania (affectionately called Rommies), you’ll never know much about their background as they’re often from kill shelters. You also don’t know anything about their temperament, which I addressed in my first article about Rommies here. I asked my rescue contact for more information on Cassi last week.
The lovely lady I regularly talk to told me they don’t disclose much because they never know how much people can handle. Understandable, some of these dogs have been through things we can’t even imagine.
It’s also really important to assert proper boundaries when your dog arrives, as they will try and push you. If you feel sorry for your dog, you’re not going to want to discipline them! However, it’s much better for them to understand their place in the home and respect you as their leader.
They need someone to trust and rely on, and solid boundaries can create that relationship for you. Cassi respects my authority, knows she can trust me to look after her, and she always looks to me for reassurance. Delphi will get there at some point!
Cassi’s background
I didn’t know much about her background until two days ago. I’d figured out a few things based on her triggers. She really dislikes older men who look a certain way. She’ll run into a road to escape them, and if she sees one even 100m away, that’s it: it’s panic time. Even in the last couple of months, she had the worst reaction I’ve ever seen, and that’s after so much work to make her feel safe and protected. At that moment, I could only take her home and hope she’d calm down. She was drooling and shaking from fear, which I’d never seen before. Luckily, she was okay at home!
She also hated the sound of us opening soft drink cans, hands moving too quickly (seeing your dog flinch is heartbreaking), and anyone being too close above her. Cassi passionately hated the rain.
The rescue believes dog snatchers caught her, and they’re notoriously shitty people.
It turns out she was in one of the worst shelters in Bucharest for a few weeks. A shelter that the police raided. They took Cassi in the raid to the ASPA shelter, which is their equivalent of the RSPCA. Apparently, that shelter is nice, phew! She stayed there for a couple of months before we adopted her.
I’m a bit haunted by the other dog in the cage photo. They definitely look related, and from the video I saw, the other dog was snappy compared to Cassi’s people-pleasing behaviours. I hope they’re okay.
Delphi’s background
I know basically nothing about Delphi’s background. She doesn’t seem to have any triggers at all; she just isn’t a big fan of my noises to make them stop playfighting or the NO that ends all the BS! Which is good 🤣
I know she was in the Barlad shelter, which isn’t the worst, but it’s also not very nice, and there are lots of dogs. She wasn’t there for long before we adopted her, 1–2 months. Lucky girl! She had zero applications before ours, so I had to give in and add her to our pack!
So straight away, we have the difference in shelters. I’m sure Cassi saw some shit at the shelter she was in, and her huge fear of the rain makes me think the shelter staff hosed her pen down while she was in it. That’s a common thing there, and you can imagine how traumatising it would be in an already horrible situation. I think Delphi probably had to battle for food, and she’s incredibly submissive, so she probably didn’t do too well.
They both arrived house-trained, so I think they’d been abandoned or given up. You can guess their backstory based on their triggers and behaviours: whether they’re accurate guesses are another matter! I assume Cassi had a nasty owner before, possibly an old alcoholic who hurt her. In contrast, Delphi had someone who gave her lots of rubs and didn’t make her feel unsafe.
Cassi’s arrival
Cassi arrived during the day of 15 May 2021. She was the size I expected, around 9kg. We expected a 3–4-year-old dog, but she was almost two.
Cassi was terrified. We had to entice her into the garden with treats. She stuck next to the fence as she walked along the driveway, and she didn’t want us near her. We also had to coax her indoors, and she was too exhausted to jump up the small step. She thankfully managed it eventually because she would not have tolerated us picking her up!
I gave her a bowl of water when she got in, and she kissed me on the hand and arm to say thank you. My heart! We had to lure her through the house to her room which we’d set up with a covered, cosy crate.
She gave us a fairly wide berth, which was understandable! She did let me give her little brushes with the leave-in spray shampoo, though, which I applied onto the brush, rather than terrifying her! Cassi was stinky, and her coat was moulting really badly, and I thought it might make her more comfortable. She didn’t mind at all, and she loves brushes ❤️
Cassi latched onto Ben quickly. Within a few hours, she sat at his feet and let him stroke her. They had a cuddle together on the second day, and she cuddled me too. She still prefers Ben, though! (He’s got the novelty factor as he doesn’t work from home or do the discipline or the claw clipping, etc.: I get all the shitty jobs🤣)
Cassi was easily startled for quite a while. On the second or third day, I raised my hand to move my hair out of my face, and she flinched. She also struggled to settle, listening for noises. The first time she barked was about three days in, and she does love a good bark.
First impressions: traumatised, anxious dog
Delphi’s arrival
Delphi arrived at night on 11 February 2022, so there’s no immediate handover photo for her! Although this one is from about 10 minutes after 🥰 She was bigger than I expected, around 11kg. We expected a one-year-old dog, but she’s nearly three, two months older than Cassi. Not a problem as it meant she wouldn’t grow any more!
The difference between the two of them was literally night and day.
Delphi was a little bit nervous but almost immediately jumped up at me to play as soon as we got her into the safety of the garden! On day two, she headbutted me in the eyeball as she jumped up at me, so that was immediately on the fix list 😂 She now sits for rubs instead of jumping up; she learned that within three days or so!
We got her inside and sat in her room with her, and she flopped onto us for cuddles. Gorgeous! She loves to bow her head against you for head rubs, and it was one of the first things she did.
Delphi’s coat was in amazing condition, almost like she’d just been to a groomer! Her claws were nicely clipped, too, unlike Cassi’s! She was stinky, which we expected. They’ve been in cages in a van for over a day to get to the UK! She didn’t mind me brushing her a couple of days later, and she prefers not being sprayed directly with the leave-in shampoo!
She had an upset tummy for a couple of days, even with Pro-Kolin. Cassi was lucky on that front!
Although Delphi’s coat was generally in amazing condition, she did have a mat on her leg, which is common with kenneled dogs. It was horribly tight and needed cutting away, which she let me do over a couple of weeks: I didn’t want to stress her, so I did it gradually. Cassi would never have let me do that so early on, and she probably wouldn’t even now!
Delphi was completely silent until she joined in with Cassi one day, which was definitely after a week! She’s generally a quiet girl.
First impressions: happy, relaxed dog
Cassi’s personality & behaviours
- Very intelligent: learns tricks quickly and knows many pointless ones
- She likes a cuddle with Ben, and I get an occasional cuddle. She prefers to sit very close to me! If she could somehow sit inside me, she would.
- Incredibly stubborn, but she loves to please if there’s cheese or a meaty treat, as long as she’s not trying to chase a dog *deafness intensifies*
- She likes guarding and barking far too much.
- Terribly whiny. This has eased since Delphi arrived though, phew!
- Treats are her favourite good girl reward
- She loves dogs; distrusts people
- Alert, somewhat anxious. I have to reassure her a lot. “It’s okay” was one of the first things I taught her.
- Rarely resource guards unless it’s a very high value treat like steak
- Sleeps 80% of the time, loves walks. She will nag if I’m working and she wants a walk! This has stopped since Delphi arrived, though.
- Fussy eater, which is strange if she was on the street like we think!
- Loves playing: dominance, flipping, and grabbing dog legs is her favourite
- Reactive (frustrated greeter), so it took a lot of work to walk well on a lead. She was an absolute nightmare to start with; there were many tears.
- Recall still isn’t fantastic
- She isn’t bothered by traffic (maybe she was on the street for a while)
- She wouldn’t let me put my face too close to hers for months without growling or trying to nip my nose. She loves head kisses now, which I started about seven months in!
- Cassi isn’t too bothered about comforting me if I’m upset: she just gets excited about the salty water on my face!
- I’m pretty sure she has nightmares. I can tell when it’s a good dream, but her body feels different sometimes.
Delphi’s personality & behaviours
- Intelligent, but not as much as Cassi
- Loves cuddles: will flop on your face
- She doesn’t seem too stubborn!
- Generally couldn’t give a shit about barking or guarding. She will join in with Cassi, though. I’m sure a burglar could bribe Delphi with rubs.
- Not very whiny, although she does go for it a bit when Ben leaves. She likes a good grumble though.
- Rubs are her favourite good girl reward, but she’ll take a treat too!
- Not a huge fan of other dogs, but she loves people
- Very resilient, happy-go-lucky dog
- Resource guards most things
- She sleeps 90% of the time, likes a little walk but could probably go without one for the rest of her life 😂
- She will probably eat anything.
- Likes playing, more submissive. She has now learned the back leg grab.
- She walks well on the lead! Thank fluff for that.
- She is terrified of traffic, mainly the big lorries and construction vehicles we get on our road.
- Loves head kisses
- Delphi likes to comfort me even if I’m absolutely fine. How refreshing.
- She has clearly great dreams. She spends a lot of time sleep running, yipping, and boofing.
Cassi’s quirks
- Defensive: protects me from big dogs and protects Eddie (her best dog friend)
- She looooves sniffing! She has an incredible nose.
- She loves giving paw and kisses.
- She has gigantic satellite ears, but they come preinstalled with impressive selective hearing.
- Will bark and howl at dogs if they don’t play with her. She’s dog reactive (too friendly!) and a frustrated greeter, so that’s always a work in progress.
- She’s petrified of the rain. This has improved, but she used to have panic attacks. I think Delphi is showing her that the rain is okay 🥰
- She definitely thinks she’s a guard dog; she loves alert barking and barking at air. This has worsened with Delphi joining the pack as she’s trying to protect someone else!
Delphi’s quirks
- Loves tummy rubs: will immediately flop over for them!
- Likes being held like a baby. Cassi would destroy our faces.
- She’s a very quiet dog and typically only makes noise when Cassi does.
- She’s very bendy, especially in the neck: maybe she’s part owl!
- She uses her paws and claws as a weapon. Yes, I’ll rub you, but please don’t rip my lip off. She is learning how to use her paws gently, yay!
- She makes adorable little high-pitched fox noises when she plays with Cassi.
- She is probably a therapy dog: if I make a weird noise, she’ll immediately come over and lie on me for comfort. Cute!
How did the introduction go?
To start with, Cassi wasn’t overly impressed that Delphi wouldn’t play with her. Cassi’s marker for whether she likes a dog is if they immediately play with her. To start with, Delphi didn’t want to play, so Cassi would side-eye and bark at her!
I knew as soon as Delphi gave in to playtime, Cassi would love her, and they’d become best furiends. I guessed correctly!
This was day three just after Delphi played with her:
I was so happy that they got on well! Cassi is too rough with her play sometimes, though, which I already knew about. It’s a pretty classic Rommie trait to play to dominate, and it almost appears aggressive. Thankfully it’s not! But it’s exacerbated by Delphi being fairly submissive. She gives as good as she gets sometimes, though! They do get into occasional scuffles when Cassi pushes it too far. She accidentally clipped Delphi’s ear last night (thankfully, it’s a small, superficial cut), so I’ll be keeping a very close eye on them now!
It’s been just over three weeks, and they’re already best friends. Delphi loves following Cassi around, they know each others’ names, and they’ll look for each other! There’s still some competitive stuff with Delphi’s resource guarding, but she’s made a lot of progress.
This photo is from yesterday morning. Cassi woke up and couldn’t see Delphi, and she almost panicked! She had that look in her eyes of, “Oh no, where is she, mum?!” but Delphi was just the other side of Ben! So I pulled the duvet down so Cassi could see she was there, and she army crawled over to sniff Delphi and almost snuggled up with her! Then Delphi climbed over, and they ended up like this. Super sweet girls 🥰
Many Rommies are so deeply traumatised that they struggle to live in a home, go near anyone, and they often prefer to hide somewhere safe. Touching them is out of the question, and they have so many more triggers than we could imagine.
I’ve been lucky with my girls. Compared to Cassi, Delphi has been a dream to settle in, and I hope that she continues to be a laid-back girl! Cassi is a brave girl, so I can’t knock her either. She’s just a lot of work sometimes! Still, I have so much respect for what she’s come from, the dog she’s turned into, and how well she accepted Delphi into our family. She could have easily been a dog that cowers under a table and never comes out. Instead, she’s flourished.
They’ve both enriched my life so much. I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring for us as Delphi settles in properly! If you want to keep up with them, our Instagram is @cassi.and.delphi, and we’d love to have you join us! If you have any questions, comment here or DM me on IG.
Here’s their rescue, Rocky Road Rescue’s Instagram and Facebook.
They need all the donations they can get, so please check out their latest fundraisers. If you’re looking for a cat or dog, they have gorgeous cats and dogs of all ages! And they’re always looking for fosters, too: every foster in the UK frees up a space in their Romanian shelter to save another dog from the horrible kill shelters.
Thank you for reading! :)
