Will you give me a little time to call this home?

You might have been waiting for me for weeks. I’d only just have arrived.

Let me look before everyone says hello

There’s a bed you’ve chosen, a water bowl and a whole room of things that smell of you. I pause near the doorway. You crouch to welcome me, then notice I’m hanging back.

So you sit a little further away and let me look.

I can investigate without hands coming towards me from every direction. The children know to leave my resting place quiet. Visitors can meet me another day. If I approach, we can begin there; if I retreat, I still have somewhere safe to go.

Before I arrive, you’ll have checked doors, gates and windows. I won’t yet know which way leads back to you if I get startled and slip outside.

Something I already know

You ask the rescue what I’ve been eating and which routines or equipment are familiar. You ask for my health records, any medication instructions and the number to call if you’re worried.

There are some things I can’t show you by exploring the flat. You’ll need to confirm my ownership transfer, licensing and housing arrangements with the rescue and the relevant authorities, and arrange my veterinary care.

While you deal with that, familiar food and a bowl I can find are quite enough for me to be getting on with.

You jot down how I’m eating, drinking, sleeping and toileting. That will help if something changes. If I stop eating, drink unusually much or seem unwell, please ask for advice rather than assuming I’m only nervous.

Tomorrow, could we try that same little walk?

On our first outings, I have plenty to take in before we’ve gone very far. The lift doors open. A trolley rattles past. There’s a smell near the gate that needs investigating.

A manageable route in comfortable weather gives me a chance to become familiar with these things. When I’m ready, we can try a little reward-based training too. I don’t need to meet every dog or visit every busy place before the month is over. Other animals at home need careful introductions, with supervision and help suited to all of us.

You may have heard about three days, three weeks and three months. I don’t know those dates. Some things might become easy quickly; others may need longer and more support.

If I keep feeling frightened, guard things or struggle when you leave, we can ask for qualified help early. You don’t have to guess your way through it alone.

A place I begin to recognise

Perhaps one evening I’ll stay lying down while you get up. Perhaps I’ll bring a toy nearer your chair, then take it away again.

Please don’t worry if the moment you imagined hasn’t happened yet. I won’t know how to give you a grateful arrival scene. I’ll be learning the smaller things: where to drink, where to sleep, what your footsteps sound like coming back.

Tomorrow, the water bowl will be in the same place. I’ll know how to find it.