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Rescuing Corky is the BEST thing we’ve ever done
Giving a rescue dog a home will enrich your life and totally transform theirs, says Louise Redknapp in part one of our heartwarming new series
Louise Redknapp describes it as one of the best experiences of her life, at once terrifying and exhilarating, physically and mentally challenging. She talks passionately about getting over the barrier of thinking you can’t do something, about the ‘pure joy’ of realising that you can, of how you learn mutual trust, of being forced out of your comfort zone. ‘It was life-changing, definitely,’ she says. ‘And for the better.’
Another Strictly celeb banging on about their ‘journey’ on TV’s most famous dance floor? Well no, actually – although all of the above could also be applied to the former Eternal singer’s Strictly experience last year. She’s actually talking about a less glamorous battle – the one she faced when she adopted an unwanted dog and was confronted with the challenge of turning him into a family pet. ‘I don’t know if I realised how hard it would be,’ she says. ‘Or how rewarding. Getting Corky was just one of the best things this family has ever done. But it certainly wasn’t easy. There were times I thought, “Can I do this?” because he was so scared and so damaged. He’s come on so well though that I’m so glad we persevered. We aren’t entirely there yet – there’s still work to do – but he’s just a completely different dog to the terrified one we got. He’s a member of the family, simple as that. I can’t imagine life without him.’
Her time on Strictly revealed to the world that the Redknapp family home – which she shares with her retired footballer husband Jamie and their two sons Charley and Beau – is a chaotic and often boisterous place. Today she jokes about how all the boys (‘the little ones and the big one’) would pile into the dance studio where she was rehearsing and ‘kick a football about while I was trying to learn a ballroom step’. Suffice to say the Redknapp home is not a calm oasis.
But key to family life, it seems, are the three dogs (the family also have two other dogs, Blu and Rudi) who, she admits, demand almost as much of her time as her children do. Today though the focus is on Corky, a lovable and seemingly affectionate Jura hound cross (‘although most people who meet him just don’t know what he is’) the family adopted from Cyprus last summer, aged two. Abandoned on a doorstep when he was just six weeks old, Corky was rescued by London- based charity the Wild at Heart Foundation. The organisation rehomes unwanted dogs from abroad, negotiating the often fraught process of bringing a dog into the UK and finding them a loving family. Finding a home for Corky – skittish, unused to human contact and unable even to be patted – was going to be one of their biggest challenges, though. To put it bluntly, no one wanted him.
Louise became aware of their work when she happened upon Corky’s picture on social media. Although his floppy ears, shiny coat and ‘ take- me- home’ eyes had attracted a lot of attention, potential owners had been put off by the stark warning from the charity that this was a dog with ‘ issues’ and that offering him a home would not be easy. Louise, though, wasn’t put off. ‘ I just fell in love with him the moment I saw him. I realised I actually knew the woman who founded the charity. It was Nikki Tibbles, a florist I’d worked with in my days
with Eternal. She did the flowers for a lot of big events. I rang her up and said, “I think I’m interested in this dog”, and that was it.’
Once she’d been briefed on what
living with Corky would involve (‘they didn’t sugar-coat it. I knew it would be hard work’), the process of getting Corky out of Cyprus began. A rehoming manager for the charity flew out to complete the necessary paperwork, then took Corky to Mallorca, where the Redknapps have a second home.
It all sounds like a bit of a fairytale – the unwanted stray going from the streets into the embrace of a millionaire family – but the initial introductions were less storybook. ‘ We’d warned the kids that this dog wasn’t going to be like Blu and Rudi. They couldn’t just run up and cuddle him or lift him up onto the sofa.’ Obviously the instinct, on being introduced to the cutest of animals, is to do exactly that. ‘I had to hold back myself,’ admits Louise. ‘When we first met him he was shaking like a leaf. When I went near him you could just see the fear in his eyes. The poor thing was terrified. He wouldn’t even let me touch him.’
That first meeting wasn’t a huge success. Corky’s response to seeing his new family was to pee on the floor, run into the corner and growl if anyone dared approach. How do you integrate such a dog into a f ami l y? Wi t h much patience, says Louise.
‘I can’t lie. The first few weeks were quite a challenge, but we knew from the start that it would take weeks, months, maybe even years of work. The good thing was that we weren’t alone. The charity send people to your home to help you, and there’s always someone on the end of the phone. In the early days I’d speak to them about three times a day to ask for advice.’
At fi rst the chi ldren simply ignored Corky. As hard as it was not to try to force him into their rough and tumble, they heeded Louise’s advice. ‘The idea was that it all had to be on his terms. He would approach us when he was ready.’ There were enticements, of course. Steak and chicken dinners, for starters. After a few weeks, Louise found that Corky would tolerate her putting a hand on his head, then she built up to a gentle stroke. Getting him to walk on the lead (which he’d never done before) was quite a challenge, but they were making progress. Then one day Louise took a bit of a gamble. ‘I went straight over to him and cuddled him and kissed him and put his paws up on my shoulders. He tried to back off but then something amazing happened, he let me. It was a real breakthrough.’
Seven months on, the progress has been remarkable. ‘He’s still not as comfortable with people as our other dogs, who were with us from pups and who’ve only ever known love and affection, but he’s come on in leaps and bounds. He’ll let the kids stroke him and he joins in all the fun. He’s adorable, actually, a complete sweetheart. Getting him was the best thing we’ve ever done.’
So much so that she has become almost evangelical about the issue of abandoned dogs. ‘ I tell everyone that there are so many dogs out there who need a home, and to consider it. On Strictly I got Karen Clifton involved – she and her husband Kevin got a dog from the charity too, which was incredible. Beware being friends with me – I’ll make you get a rescue dog!’
While the question of whether there’ll be any more human additions to the Redknapp family is still up in the air (she’s talked about how she would love a little girl), it seems another dog is definitely part of the plan. ‘There are so many out there who deserve the chance,’ she says. ‘I go online and every one I see I fall in love with. Jamie says to me, “Step away from the laptop”, but I do feel there’s room in our home for another one. Four dogs, two kids and one big kid? Yes, bring it on.’