Ambassadogs
Tori, Stan, Poppy, Tizzie & Cookie
Tori, Stan, Poppy, Tizzy and Cookie are a pack of adopted rescue dogs from Derbyshire. All have their individual backstories and personalities but come together, they gel to make the perfect pack with their mum, Vicky. Their favourite Woof and Snout products are their Bookkeeper Collars and Natural Treats.
Tori is a collie cross who weighs approximately 15kg. She wears a custom size 13"-16" (25mm/38mm) in our waterproof collar range and a size medium in our Explorer harness range. Stan is a small labrador cross who weighs approximately 13kg. He also wears a custom size 13"-16" (25mm) in our waterproof collar range and fits into a size small in our Explorer harness range. Poppy is a small Romanian Rescue weighing approximately 11kg and wears a custom size 12"-15" (25mm) in our waterproof collar range. You can find a selection of Tori and the pack's top choices from our collection by clicking the button below.
Hi, I'm Vicky. I am the packs momager - if you will! I am 34, originally from Manchester but currently live in Nottinghamshire. I have 5 dogs, all incredible with their own personalities, and all rescued. I am a huge advocate for rescuing dogs and believe every dog should have a second chance. My dogs are Tori, Stan, Tizzy, Poppy and Cookie.
Tori, the Collie Cross
Tori is currently 5 years old. Her mum was brought into the rescue as a stray dog before we found out she was pregnant. Tori was one of the puppies born in the rescue kennels where I worked at the time. And, it was meant to be. When I met her, I instantly fell in love with her. Initially, I was going to call her Smudge - she has a beautiful dark patch on her snout. But, I changed my mind and to this day, Tori suits her better. I had always planned on getting a white and black male Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but Tori came along instead. And, I mean, how could I not want her, she’s incredible!
Stan, the Labrador Cross
My next dog is Stan. Stan is a Romanian street dog and a Labrador cross. He is currently 3 years old and he arrived in the UK when he was just a puppy at 9 months old. His birthday is the day before mine. This means, typically, every year he takes all the limelight! But, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Stan came to me as a foster dog. However, when I saw how well he and Tori got on together and just how perfectly he slotted into our lifestyle, I couldn’t let him go. He ended up staying and joining our pack. We haven’t had any DNA tests done to confirm Stan’s breed, but everyone called him a Labrador puppy and he has gone along with it.
Poppy, the ex-Romanian Street Dog.
Poppy is our senior dog. She is 11 years old and an ex-Romanian street dog. We adopted Poppy at two years old. Originally, we were supposed to be fostering Poppy, but, much like Stan, she never left! When we met her we quickly realised she was extremely scared of both kids and men. It took her a week to allow us to pet her at all. With her fears and background, we knew immediately she needed a safe, stable home with no kids or men and, as we have neither in the house it was the perfect fit. We don’t know what breeds Poppy is. She is a small dog, smaller than both Tori and Stan, but still has such a big personality.
Tizzy, the Greyhound.
Next up we have Tizzy. Tizzy is 9 years old and our only sighthound! She is an ex-racing greyhound who retired early from racing after breaking her hock. At just 2 years old, Tizzy had a metal plate put in her hock to help it recover but her racing career ended immediately and she came to join our family.
Cookie, the Jackchi
Finally, I’m happy to introduce Cookie. Cookie is a 13 years old, male cross between a Jack Russell Terrier and a Chihuahua. He has had congestive heart failure for 3 years but medications are helping to improve his everyday life. We found cookie on a local selling page a few months after we lost our previous two dogs In a house fire and it just seemed like fate how he came into our lives. We wanted to rename him Prince, but he had other ideas. He refused to answer to the name so that was that!
A day in our life
Every day is different with 5 dogs, especially when they are all of different breeds and ages. Every day, I have to make sure I am meeting all of their individual and breed needs. I enjoy going out and practicing my photography with the dogs. Usually this is with Tori and Stan. But, when we go to the right locations I love to bring Poppy along too! Poppy and Stan are always on lead, or will need leads attached so I can quickly keep them safe, but Tori is incredible no matter where we go. When we work together it’s the perfect team. I can ask her to sit, stay or do a number of tricks including, a favourite, sit pretty! There are some tricks she won’t do for me yet. We have been working on head down, but so far Stan won’t attempt head down at all and Tori will only do it if there’s a pillow involved!
As a dog groomer, I encounter a lot of dogs every day. I make sure my dogs coats are well-maintained and looked after and there really isn’t much cuter in life than seeing our little Jackchi, Cookie, covered in suds. As well as grooming, we do a lot of training with our own dogs and love to learn new tricks and provide them with a lot of enrichment too.
Why we chose 5 dogs to join our family
If I could give any advice to anyone looking to have 5 dogs join their family, it would be not to do it! I’m just kidding…ish. It was never my plan to own 5 dogs. My dogs came by chance but I am grateful they did. Plus, Stan and Poppy arrived by choosing to foster them, and then never left as I couldn’t let them go after meeting them and seeing them in our family.
Contrary to what you may believe, our life with 5 dogs is pretty easy-going. Each of our pack have their own personalities that gel so easily together. But, they also all like their space from each other too so we have to make sure we facilitate that for them.
The only thing I would say to be cautious of when owning multiple dogs is to make sure your dogs are compatible as not all dogs will get along together – regardless of size! A lot of people say big dogs and small dogs don’t mix well. But this hasn’t been the case for us. Tizzy is our largest dog and a huge 29kg, but she has always been super careful of our little 3.5kg Cookie. Even when Tizzy was younger, she always knew her boundaries with their size difference.
Our Favourite Woof and Snout Products
Tori
My favourite Woof and Snout product for Tori has to be the Book-Keeper Biothane Collar. I mean, it’s so pretty and classy. I like how it makes my dog stylish but also gives me peace of mind that it is affordable and safe.
Stan
Stan is allergic to poultry but Woof and Snout have him covered with his favourite treats – Camel Skin, Rabbit Ears and Fish Treats. He always finds them sooo tasty!
Poppy
Poppy’s favourite food is beef!
Tizzy
Tizzy loves goat and will do anything for a goat treat.
Cookie
Cookie cannot resist chicken necks, they are his favourite treat.
Our Best Adventure Yet
This is a difficult one with 5 dogs as they all have different needs and enjoy different adventures. Stan and Poppy love to sunbathe whereas Cookie will be resting under a blanket somewhere snug as a bug. Tori and me absolutely love exploring together. Our favourite place is by the sea. We go on holiday three times a year to the coast and I take her there for a day trip every year on her birthday too. Stan likes the beach but he doesn’t like soft sand as it hurts his feet. We love everything, so long as we are outdoors – From the Peak District, all the way to the coast.
Our top adventure is always Surprise View in the Peak District National Park. The views are insane and it is usually really quiet and a place you can take some time to yourself. With lots of woodland and meadows alongside parkland and moorlands, there are plenty of rocks and streams for the dogs to play in. Plus, there are lots of great photo opportunities too. We also love Hardwick Hall and Clumber Park. These are both part of the National Trust. There are castles and other places to visit on the grounds as well as dog friendly cafes to grab a bite to eat or a drink.
Our top 4 dog-friendly days out
- Surprise View (Peak District)
- Clumber Park, National Trust
- Hardwick Hall, National Trust
- Any beach! If there is sea and sand, we are there.
Follow along with Vicky and her packs adventures
You can follow Vicky and the pack on Instagram (@tails_of_toriandstan) or through their Tiktok (@tori_adventures).