I thought I'd bought an adorable miniature cockapoo puppy but got a horrendous shock months later - here's my urgent warning to anybody who wants one

Daily Mail​

10-06-2025

A This Morning guest revealed how she got the shock of her life when the adorable cockapoo puppy she's bough turned out to be something very different - and shared a warning to viewers who may want one.
Charlotte Fallowfield appeared on the ITV show to chat to hosts Ben Shephard, 50, and Cat Deeley, 48, about the story of how she got her hands on her sweet pooch Waffle.
She was over the moon when she brought home her miniature cockapoo puppy, but as soon as he started growing, alarm bells started to ring - and she soon realised that he wasn't the breed that they originally wanted.
Charlotte told the presenters: 'Due to my allergies, I wanted one that was slightly hypoallergenic, one that was small enough that he wouldn't injure me, we saw him advertised online and went to meet him and just fell in love with him straight away.'
Ben asked: 'You did think something was a little bit off, didn't you?'
Charlotte explained: 'We asked to see him with the mother and puppies, we weren't given that chance.
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'I was pressed to make a deposit the night I saw him.
'They actually wanted full payment, which I refused to do.
'They insisted we take him home straight away, which I said I'm not prepared. Something felt a little bit off.
'But we'd fallen in love with him, that's the trouble.
'When we did go back to get him, I insisted on seeing the mother, they dragged a black shaking dog, she looked terrified out of a barn, she wasn't allowed in the house, and I wasn't allowed to see her with Waffle.
'I said to my partner somethings not right here, I wasn't prepared to leave him.'
She then explained that they paid £800 for the pup and it 'should have given us an indication something wasn't right'.
Charlotte then touched upon all of Waffle's health problems.
'He has multiple allergies, he's allergic to grass, he can only eat beef and pork, he's allergic to so many foods.
'He's got an overgrowth of yeast.
'He's got a doggy form of IBS because he had so many parasitic infections when we got him.
'And he's just had two major surgeries for cruciate ligament tearing.'
But fortunately she has insurance to cover some of the costs of Waffle's vet bills.
Ben asked: 'What would you say to anyone going out there and getting a dog like this?'
Charlotte said: 'I think just generic adverts on websites on or Facebook or social media sites, you've got to be really cautious.
'In hindsight, we should have gone to a genuine breeder who is licensed with the council, checked out those credentials.
'Because yes, a family that could have got Waffle might not have been in the position to afford all this health treatment.'
Charlotte expected Waffle to weight six to 11kg and 25 to 38cm tall.
But Waffle - who is a Sproodle - weighs between 22 to 32kg and is 45 to 55cm in height.
A Sproodle is a mix between a Springer Spaniel and a Poodle.