Both Kim and her dog Arora have faced personal difficulties in their lives, but now they’re getting through them together

My female Greyhound, Arora, is my hero. We've had her for seven months now, and she's such a nervous dog. She’s getting there one step at a time, as my family and I are taking baby steps with her each day. She’s also been my rock. I have health issues, and very bad anxiety and depression too, so she's like my therapy dog. We both support and help each other day by day.

I got her from Birmingham RSPCA. As soon as I read her profile story and saw her face in the photos, I instantly cried and shouted out to both my parents: ‘That's my new dog!’. She's such a sweetheart – so loving and very adorable. She doesn't like dogs or cats, but she loves humans.

We both support and help each other day by day

I've taught her to pick her blankets up and move them from her bedroom to the living room. Her favourite toy is her teddy called Teddy. She dislikes balls, as she’s not a toy dog, and she's scared of flies for some reason. Sometimes Arora speaks – she can say ‘mom’ and her name! She loves having her photo taken and poses like a model. She hates spiders, and if she sees one, she stamps on it with her foot. She also won’t eat any dog food, so she only eats fresh fish and tinned fish.

Getting Arora was the best thing I ever did. She's my first ever dog and the best part of my life by far. She's also a huge part of my family. I haven't got any human children, but Arora is my baby and I love her to bits! She gets everything she wants, and she deserves it as a rescue dog.

Maya has been the driving force behind many significant milestones in Katie’s life, from learning to drive to buying her first flat

Maya is the light of my life. I had wanted a dog for years, but my landlords had a strict no pet policy, which led to me saving to buy my first flat. Fast forward to June 2017, and I had been in the flat for just one week when I went to the local dog rescue centre for a ‘look around’. I was introduced to Maya, a three-year-old Brindle Lurcher who had been there over three months. We took her into a field and even though she was off lead, she walked so close to heel that her feet were catching the back of my sandals.

It was love at first sight and she came home the next day. From day one, me and Maya had an inexplicable bond. I couldn’t drive when I got her, but taking her on public transport was tricky as she was quite large and nervous. So, I learnt to drive and bought my first car, all for her. In 2019, we decided we absolutely needed a garden to relax in. So, once again motivated by my love for Maya, I sold up and bought a house with a garden.

She is the best decision I have ever made

Maya has now been with me for five years, and without doubt, she is the best decision I have ever made. During the pandemic, she was my friend, my confidant, my dance partner, my reason to go outside, my zoom quiz partner, my bubble. She's lazy, so I'm lucky to get her out of bed before 11am some days. And she's a dawdler, so I spend 90% of our walks waiting for her to catch up. She's also a fuss pot and she won't eat her biscuits for days on end, but will happily scoff a six day old sausage roll that she finds on the floor.

Maya wouldn't hurt a fly, so her sighthound skills leave a lot to be desired. She walks straight past rabbits without a care in the world and wakes me up crying at 2am if there is a spider. She was once backed into a corner in my friend’s kitchen by a three-legged cat with no tail. All of these gorgeous and hilarious quirks make her the little individual that she is, and more importantly, make me the luckiest person alive.

Leyanne’s dog Mishka might look like a lion, but really, she couldn’t be a bigger softie

Mishka is a Chow Chow like no other. She seems to think the world is hers and that everyone is just here to see her. We take her to Loch Lomond in the summer and she loves it, mostly because all the tourists fuss over her and want to take her photo. She’s quite a diva, and has a tendency to decide she’s taking a nap, no matter where we are. Once, she even decided to lie down in front of a police van that was trying to get past her!

Chow Chows are supposed to be nervous around strangers, but Mishka takes no notice of this. She loves everyone, and since we live near two primary schools she especially adores playing with the children, who always think she’s a little lion!

Kids always think she’s a lion

She is the gentlest, most loving dog I've ever had. I suffer from Fibromyalgia and she is the only one that can push me through on my bad days. She seems to sense when I'm not feeling good and looks after me. She also alerts me when my diabetic husband is about to have hypoglycemic attack.

When Mishka travels in the car she likes to ride shotgun, and we always see the other drivers and pedestrians smile at her as we drive by. She now has a little brother who absolutely adores her and looks up to her – he is always cleaning her and checking she's ok!

Beth has always loved cocker spaniels, so when Rolo came into her life, it was a match made in heaven

Having lived on my own for a while I decided I needed a companion, a buddy, to wake up to, to keep me company. As a child I had a cocker spaniel for 16 years so I knew I wanted another as I love their characters and that they are always happy.

My everyday hero came to live with me in December 2022 at eight weeks old. From that day my life changed from dull, quiet and mundane to pure joy! Rolo is my cocker spaniel. A handsome, chunky, soft, fluffy ball of mischief.

Although he’s still really only a baby he is so clever and has mastered basic commands quite quickly, as long as there is a tasty treat as a reward. He is super friendly, loves meeting people and dogs on our walks. His favourite pastime is lying on his back in a cardboard box playing with his squeaky chicken – that’s when he’s not chasing round the garden with my parents’ puppy, who happens to be his sister! He is also rather partial to noisily chomping on a carrot, which always makes me chuckle.

Puppy training classes are next on his list but I’m sure my adorable, funny fluffball will be top of the class. Rolo makes me very happy as he makes me laugh every day and I can’t imagine life without him.

A handsome, chunky, soft , fluffy ball of mischief

Nikki’s dogs Jasper and Teddie offer her endless love, laughter and affection

Jasper was our first ever rescue dog. He has so many little quirks and funny habits. He likes to sing – or howl – along to any music he hears. He also tries to eat any post that comes through the letterbox, and can bounce extremely high, like a kangaroo! This is funny because he has no sense of how tiny he actually is. Despite his size, he’s very confident and likes to protect our other dog, Teddie, whenever we’re all out on a walk together.

They’ve kept us going through lockdown

Teddie the Zuchon is boisterous and fast, but also very clumsy. He adores Jasper and spends most of his time either cuddling up to him or pestering the life out of him. Teddie likes to do tricks, such as throwing his toy up in the air and then catching it – though, he’s not always very good, and often Jasper manages to snatch it first.

Both dogs have brought so much love and hilarity into our lives. They’ve kept us going through lockdown, and definitely take care of us as much as we do them.

Whether she’s stealing tea towels or picking up things they drop, Zayat is always making Mandy and her family laugh with her cheeky antics

Zayat is such a character. She does so many funny things, and always makes us laugh. She’s also very clever, so if we drop anything, even if it’s tiny, she’ll find it, put it between her lips and look at us. Then we’ll ask her ‘what’ve you got?’, and she finally spits it out so we can see what it is.

We call her the phantom tea towel snatcher

We can hide anything, say ‘go find it’ and she would sniff it out. She often understands what we’re saying, so she knows people by name, and can read our body language. If we need cheering up, Zayat will always make us feel better.

She loves to take our socks off and our hats. We call her the phantom tea towel snatcher as she will steal the tea towel at any opportunity. We don't even realise she’s taken it as she does it so craftily, then she runs off with it so proudly. Life would be very dull without Zayat – she’s a one off!