A dog owner has revealed her shock when her perfect cockapoo puppy grew into a 22kg beast so big he could pull her over – and turned out to be a completely different breed.
Charlotte Fallowfield from Shrewsbury paid £800 for Waffle after finding him on a breeder listed on an online website in 2019.
Considering herself ‘more of a cat person’, the author, 55, had never owned a dog before and, due to a joint condition, decided to get one that ‘wasn’t too big’.
Immediately after catching sight of her new pet, Charlotte knew something was wrong: the breeder wanted her to pay in cash, wouldn’t show her the dog’s mother and put pressure on her to make the purchase as soon as possible.
Charlotte, however, had fallen in love with Waffle and, worried about the conditions in the place he was living, decided to take him home.
Six years on, and Charlotte has told the Daily Mail that she is paying £250 a month to support her dog due to a plethora of health issues including multiple allergies, an overgrowth of yeast and a form of ‘doggy IBS’ – taking out £15,000 in insurance claims in the past six months alone.
Miniature cockapoos should only weigh around 10kg when fully grown – but now Waffle is 44cm tall, and weighs a whopping 22kg.
In fact, Waffle is no cockapoo at all but a ‘sproodle’ – a combination of springer spaniel and poodle, with some Bichon Frise.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Charlotte said: ‘We knew within a few months because he kept growing and growing.
Charlotte Fallowfield thought she’d bought her dream cockapoo pup in 2019 but was soon in for a shock. Pictured with Waffle on This Morning in June
Waffle as a puppy – when he was advertised as being a first generation cockapoo
‘It just disappointed me to think that there are so many unscrupulous people out there.
‘Selling puppies that aren’t what they claim they are and people like me back then are naïve enough to fall for it.
‘And it’s not fair on the dogs themselves. It’s just sad that people are profiteering off this when they shouldn’t be. It just breaks my heart.’
Cockapoo puppies have become increasingly popular over the last few years, especially during lockdown, due to their teddy bear-esque appearance, Instagram-perfect appearance and the belief they don’t shed their fur.
Charlotte and her partner decided to adopt a dog in 2019 and settled on a first generation miniature cockapoo so that she’d easily be able to walk him.
But following their ‘very bizarre’ interaction with the breeders, they soon realised that Waffle was very ill.
Her beloved pooch came to them with parasitic infections which took a long time to ‘get to the bottom of’, leaving him with stomach issues for life and ‘doggy IBS’.
One of these was Campylobacter infection, which Charlotte also contracted – meaning she spent the first two weeks of life with her new pet feeling very unwell.
The results of Waffle’s DNA test showed he wasn’t a cockapoo at all – but a sproodle
Miniature cockapoos are meant to weigh around 10kg when fully grown – but now Waffle is 44cm tall, and weighs a whopping 22kg
Charlotte adores her pet, but wishes to spread awareness about her situation
According to the NHS, the Campylobacter germ causes gut infections and is easily transferred from animals, especially puppies, to humans.
Symptoms usually include stomach cramps, pain, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and fevers – although it does not usually require treatment.
Charlotte says Waffle also has multiple allergies, one of which is grass, meaning they constantly have to wipe his paws – and has a yeast overgrowth requiring a special shampoo.
All of his health issues have come with a huge financial burden and Charlotte finds she pays around £250 a month on top of vast insurance claims.
In the last six months, Waffle has needed Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgeries to remove his cruciate ligament and put plates in his legs – which would have cost around £7,000 each without insurance.
As Charlotte and her partner don’t have children and are in a ‘strong financial position’, they have been able to manage the cost. But she advises others – especially families – to ensure they carry out thorough research before adopting to avoid making the same mistake.
She said: ‘It’s heartbreaking really. There’s been a couple of times where planned holidays haven’t gone ahead because of his illnesses. We couldn’t put him in a kennel, or we couldn’t get pet sitters.’
On average, a miniature cockapoo should weigh around 10kg, but Waffle kept ‘growing and growing’.
After two years, Charlotte eventually did a DNA test – and finally found out the truth.
Not only was Waffle not an F1 puppy – but he wasn’t a cockapoo at all and had more springer spaniel in him than cocker.
The size of a sproodle compared to the miniature cockapoo that Charlotte was expecting
Charlotte and Waffle appeared on This Morning earlier this week
Despite his health conditions, Waffle is very well behaved, and loves children
The test results showed Waffle was 47 per cent toy poodle, 35 per cent springer spaniel, 14 per cent cocker spaniel, 2 per cent standard poodle and one per cent field spaniel.
Waffle now weighs 22kg, and looks even bigger due to his curly coat.
And though Charlotte insists she loves her pet, she does admit his size has come with difficulties.
She said: ‘He has pulled me over, he has injured me. I can’t lift him up off the floor. I have to get other people to do that for me.
‘He’s like any dog. If he sees a squirrel or a rabbit, there will be no stopping him. He will bolt, and that’s when he will really pull my shoulder and cause me some damage.
‘He has pulled me over a couple of times where I’ve damaged my hands and my knees.’
Despite his health issues, Charlotte and her partner ‘adore’ Waffle and even say they want to get a sproodle again in the future – with careful research into the breeder.
‘He is the most loving, good natured dog, and we consider ourselves really lucky that we found him. We wouldn’t change anything now,’ she said.
‘He follows me everywhere and he gets upset if I’m not with him. I’m lucky working from home that I get to spend a lot of time with him, so he’s very bonded to me.
‘He just adores people. If somebody smiles at him, then he will drag me over to them because he expects the cuddle.
‘He’s very gentle, there’s no, there’s no growling, there’s no snapping. We can totally trust him around children. He’s very intelligent and picks up training very quickly.’
Charlotte’s mother, who is 83, has dementia, and Waffle is ‘incredibly gentle’ with her and gives her a lot of ’emotional support’.
‘He’s just such a loyal, loving companion that we’re prepared to to set aside all the other issues,’ Charlotte added.
She even says she would get a sproodle again in the future, but would make sure to undertake thorough research
In June, Charlotte appeared on ITV’s This Morning to tell of the shock she received when she realised the truth about her pet.
Charlotte is now speaking out to raise awareness and emphasise the importance of carrying out thorough research into the breeder.
She explained: ‘I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what we went through.
‘I want to say to people, “don’t be as naïve as me because this is the situation that you could end up in.”‘
Charlotte says if she were to get a new puppy she would make sure it was from a licensed breeder and check all their credentials.
She advised: ‘Don’t buy online from generic selling sites, go direct to either a breeder a breeder’s own website, and check all their credentials. Do your research with the Kennel Club.
‘Be prepared to pay a lot more money and to be on a long waiting list. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
‘When you take a dog, the idea is, you have it for life. If you’re not prepared to put the commitment, the time and the money then you shouldn’t even consider it.
‘This is the situation you could end up in, and people might not be as lucky as us to be able to accommodate that, or to financially afford it.’
