The past year has been incredibly difficult for Theresa, but Bella’s been there for her every step of the way

Bella came to us at a very stressful and distressing time. At the end of October 2022, my late mum had a stroke, which sped up her dementia. A couple of weeks later, our dear dog of eight years lay down one night and left us. Whilst reeling from all this, mum and I were determined to share our home with another rescue dog.

As my mum's health deteriorated, Bella never left her side

This was when sweet, gentle Bella came into our lives. She’s a Greyhound cross and the most caring dog. As my mum's health deteriorated, Bella never left her side until she went to bed at night. After that, she would come to me.

Even when mum became totally bed-bound, Bella would sit next to her, close enough for mum to stroke her. Since mum passed, she still enjoys lying in her bedroom and spending the evenings with me.

Pickle has helped Haelee through a tough time, bringing laughter into her life and even into her office!

Pickle was the last one in her litter, but even if we had an option we would always have gone for her. She is absolutely the one!

She has never left my side

She has brought a life to the family and she makes home ‘home’. She recently has helped me to go through the loss of my dad. She has never left my side and has always been the bouncy social butterfly jumpy Pickle.

We can also take her to the office, where she is helping me to get through this difficult time with my colleagues. I cannot love her enough!

When things were tough, Max helped Emma to see the sunshine in every day

Max first came to us as an emergency foster from a shelter in Spain. We immediately fell in love with him and completed the adoption process soon after.

My physical and mental wellbeing started to improve

During lockdown, I was furloughed and then made redundant. Max got us out of the house as we walked to local beauty spots every day, and I found that both my physical and mental wellbeing started to improve. Now, we enjoy travelling further afield visiting National Trust sites, nature reserves and pretty places all over Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire.

We are so lucky to have found Max and welcomed him to our family. Being out in nature on walks has made a big difference to our lives – I’m hoping to start a blog featuring all our dog-friendly walks, so others can share in the joy of dog ownership and enjoying the great outdoors.

Tessa didn’t adopt Misto in the conventional way – but the pair were meant to find each other, and Misto has helped Tessa to live the dolce vita ever since.

Misto is such a special dog, and he appeared in my life when I was really struggling. My mum had died a few months before and my daughter had moved out, leaving me quite lonely and down.

I went on holiday to Sicily with my niece, staying in a remote spot and one day Misto just appeared! He took a shine to me (and me to him!) and would fine me every day, curling up beside me wherever I was. It felt like my mum had sent him to me, and so we named him Misto in her memory - her favourite greyhound was a brindle called misty, so we ‘italianised’ the name to Misto - which is fitting, as in Italian it means ‘mixed’!

In Italian it means mixed

When I asked hotel staff about him they said he was just a stray - they’d had quite a few pups and various Italian visitors had adopted them but he was the last one.  I asked about the possibility of me adopting him, and they put me in contact with an Italian woman who takes in strays and finds homes for them - not usually as far away as England though

Communicating largely through google translate, we arranged for her to take him in. She kept him for about six weeks, got all his jabs, pet passport and arranged his flight over, and he finally arrived at Heathrow in December 2016.

He brings unimaginable joy to my life. I live by the sea and we both love walks and runs on the beach - which is where the photo was taken.

Rex brought joy back into Gemma’s life after her mental health suffered while she was in the Army

I got Rex at a very low point in my life. I was in the Army, based down south. I felt very alone and was struggling with my mental health and had a silly attempt at taking some pills.

I truly believe he saved my life

I realised the only thing that gave me any joy was the time I spent around dogs. So, I came across someone looking to rehome Rex and I considered whether I could be the person he needed. I believed I was, and it turns out he was exactly what I needed too.

I truly believe Rex saved my life. Four years on, I’m out of the Army and I have a fiancée who has two kids, so me and Rex are now part of their family.

Jessie the cockapoo has brought endless laughs, cuddles and happy wiggles to Kirsty’s family

Jessie is our first dog and she really has changed our lives for the better. She’s a three-year-old cockapoo and she has a real ability to make us smile no matter what. She always greets us with enthusiasm and pure joy, and her energetic wiggles and happy spins are always bound to make us beam!

She makes us smile no matter what

She loves adventure and exploring, and she has a real zest for life. She’s been such a positive influence, getting us out and about in the great outdoors. We love nothing more than a walk in the woods with Jessie. She has been described as ‘a cocker spaniel in cockapoo clothing’ so her nose is often on the ground, following the trail of something exciting.

But above all, the best thing about Jessie is her cuddles. I’ve never known such a cuddly dog and she loves to be as close to you as possible – personal space isn’t a thing to Jessie! But we don’t mind because we know her time here won’t be forever, so we will happily embrace all the cuddles, wiggles, spins, happiness and love every day.