Since Rosie’s children have left home, Gimli has filled the gap they left with lots of laughs and constant support

Gimli is our sixth rehomed dog, and has been with us nearly five years. He's a joy. He loves humans and always invites them to tickle his ears. He also loves playing with the dogs he sees regularly on his walks.

His dedication to sniffing when he's outside always reminds us of a reader with a very good book. My husband now calls his walks ‘going to the library’.

Gimli stops us being empty nesters

Gimli’s my constant companion. When I fractured my femur last June, we had to wait 10.5 hours for an ambulance. For all that time, he sat quietly and supportively by my side, near the fracture. When the ambulance team came, he welcomed them and stood back quietly as they manoeuvred me onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.

Our children have flown the nest now to have their own lives (rightly so), but Gimli stops us being empty nesters. He fills the house with fun and welcomes all the affection we used to give the children with genial appreciation.

Whether she’s demanding cuddles or knocking things over, Willa always makes Gillian and her family laugh with her silly personality

Willa is a daft German Shorthaired Pointer. She loves to walk and scent chase. You hardly see her on a walk but one whistle and she's back in a second – unless something requires her urgent attention!

In the house, she’s a massive lap dog. She wants cuddles and covers even when it's 28° outside. She runs a tight ship too: breakfast at 8am prompt, lunchtime snack at 12 exactly, dinner at 5pm and supper at 9pm on the button. We joke that she is a dictator. This is her life and you’re privileged to be a part of it, thank you very much!

She always makes us laugh with her silly antics

She always makes us laugh with her silly antics. Her nickname is doof-dog because she 'doofs' things with her nose and knocks them over. When you’re in the bath. the deodorant often ends up in with you! She also has a weird obsession with metal and likes to chew coins. She won’t eat them; she’ll just faff about with them in her mouth.

Willa has always been a goof and that's why we love her so much. There is never a dull moment.

Sharon has a soft spot for Mabel the mischief maker.

Mabel is a blonde bundle of fluffy fun, with a laid-back personality. She loves everyone and she thinks that everyone automatically loves her!

She thinks that everyone automatically loves her!

I love that she is a bit of a monkey, who totally doesn’t care if she has done something wrong. She just looks at you with her big brown eyes as if to say ‘what’s the problem?’

My favourite thing to do is cuddle her, as well as teaching her new tricks. Now she can high-five, beg, give a paw and roll over.

Despite being an older dog, Bella has bounced back from her recent health scares to accompany Grace on her European adventures

We got Bella in January 2020, and she has been the best companion. She’s a rescue dog from Battersea so has come with a few challenges – luckily, she will do anything for a treat! Since we adopted Bella, she’s had a couple of health scares, including a bout of chest cancer and her cruciate went too. We aren’t sure how she managed to hurt her cruciate, considering she spends a lot of her time under a mountain of blankets on the sofa...

She’s added so much to our adventures

Luckily, she has bounced back from all of this to join us in our campervan for a tour of Europe. We’ve been away since April touring the continent, from Amsterdam to Bulgaria. Bella has mastered lots of modes of transport too. She’s been in cable cars, a blow-up kayak and a doggie rucksack when we’re on our bikes. She even joined us at the top of Jungfraujoch, which is the highest train station in Europe.

Bella has been such an angel the entire time and has added so much to our adventures. We even have personalised bandanas for each country so that we can keep track of where she has been! We couldn’t imagine a better dog to have in the van.

It took Blake a while to find his forever home, but owner Louise gave him his happily ever after

Blake was rehomed in March, when he was just eight months old. He’s a Pointer Cross and is very energetic, loving and playful. He had been through a couple of foster families before he found us, but we are his forever home.

He is a loving dog who enjoys cuddles, chest rubs and spending time with his humans. More than anything, he adores playing with a ball – though he doesn’t always like to give it back! Recently, he had his first taste of snow and just couldn’t get enough of it.

We are his forever home

Something else which he basks in is human affection – he’s featured in many a zoom call, always sneaking into the room when I have my back turned so that he can come and say hello. He’s even starred on a rugby pet calendar, for which he had to pose at Murrayfield stadium.

Earlier this year, my wife was made redundant and I had to undergo an unexpected operation. Blake has been a huge source of comfort to us both, and we simply couldn’t imagine our lives without him.

Kelly and Joey were a match made in heaven, and not just because of Kelly’s ready supply of tennis balls!

Joey found us, post lockdown #1. I placed an advert detailing the life we could offer a dog. Perhaps someone had over-dogged themselves during the pandemic and wanted to reconsider, but also wanted the best for their pooch. It turns out there was someone in that position and they contacted my ad and the stars aligned. Joey joined us in October 2020. He was six months old and a true working lab. He needed a job.

I have never known a dog love his tennis balls so much!

As we got to know his character, Joey’s true calling emerged: to save tennis balls at all costs. I have never known a dog love his tennis balls so much! If he’s not retrieving his own, he’s searching for those little rubber critters others he’s lost. We have a tub full of balls we never set out with!

He loves entertaining us as we seek out new routes to walk on the south coast. We’re very glad he found us. He’s a sensitive soul, brain always in overdrive (if not always engaged), loves his cuddles and is very handsome… but maybe I’m biased!