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.

Raising Rocket has been an extremely fulfilling experience for owner Carly

I have adopted three dogs in my life, but Rocket is the first I’ve had since she was a puppy.Bringing her up has been one of my greatest achievements.I've never felt as though I'm particularly good at anything, but I'm so proud of this little bundle of fluff.She is my go-anywhere, do-anything dog and I wouldn't change a thing about her.

She is so willing to learn

Rocket loves sports and adventures, especially long walks on the South Downs. She is also very caring and works as a therapy dog with Canine Concern, as well as being a brilliant cousin to my nieces, who absolutely adore her. Rocket is always willing to learn, whether it be new tricks or even activities such as paddle boarding.

My other dogs have grown strong and confident and that brings me so much joy, but Rocket is special because she’s helped me to feel as thoughI’ve achieved great things.

Chris will never forget how Roco the goofy pup helped to save his partner’s life

Roco the rescue pup joined our family when he was 18 months old. When he came to live with us he was very excitable and really bouncy. He is a Labrador Husky cross with a 'wonky' ear (one sticks up and one hangs down). He craved fuss, attention and love, and so that’s exactly what I gave him.

My partner Graham has had some serious health issues in the past, and eventually had to spend a few days in hospital. When he came home, Roco was delighted to see him, but clearly sensed he was not well so was very gentle around him, which must have been hard for him given his excitable nature.

Roco saved Graham’s life that night

One evening, Graham headed to bed early as he was very tired. I sat watching TV downstairs and Roco stayed with me. After a short while he disappeared upstairs, and then came back a few minutes later and stood looking at me. Several times, he went to foot of the stairs, looked up and then came to me and nudged my leg. Eventually, I followed him as he trotted ahead of me, until I got to our bedroom and found Graham collapsed on the bed – there was clearly something very wrong.

Roco – normally bouncy and full of life – sat quietly at the foot of the bed, as I called for an ambulance. A couple of times he came over to me and leaned against my leg for comfort. Roco saved Graham's life that night. The ambulance crew said he was in a bad way and was later diagnosed with a serious chest infection. I will never forget what my dog did to get me upstairs that evening.

Jasmine loves her dog Rocky for all his quirks, even if he does insist on taking her for long walks!

Rocky is our fourth rescue dog. He is extremely mild-mannered and is friendly to every person and other dog he meets. He’s also very particular, and likes to go on a walk with each member of our family individually – which in fairness, has been a blessing in disguise during these lockdown months.

We live right beside a park – which he loves – but he has a mind of his own when it comes to which route we take to get there. Some days, he’ll go straight to the park and on others, he’ll lead us on a wild goose chase before we eventually get there.

Likes to go on walks with each of us individually

He loves to lie on the floor and have one of us lie down beside him and stroke him gently. He’s also very smart, and always knows what time of day it is – we think it’s so he can remind us that it’s time for his next walk!

With Rocky around, you’ll never be bored or miserable. He’s really made our house a home.

When things were tough for Hayley, Louie helped her to look on the bright side again

I had a stroke at the age 32, and it knocked me sideways. I struggled to live my life how I had before, and as a result was feeling quite low. My partner knew exactly how to get me moving, and that was by bringing Louie into our lives. We fell in love with him instantly, and he helped me to get more active and find a focus again.

We fell in love with him instantly

Louie is always smiling, loves playing with his toys and is the best cuddle-giver. He is so mischievous, and we often find socks and underwear that he’s stolen and hidden in the garden. He also likes to help when we’re doing projects around the house, though often he’s more of a hindrance – like when he thought he could paint the wall by dipping his head into the paint tin!

Orla loves to spoil her two pups Paloma and Kyuss, who enjoy going on long walks with her – even though they have tiny legs!

Our little troublemakers are a pair of long-haired mini dachshunds, who turned our world upside down when they joined us as pups back in 2017.

There are so many funny things that they do, and even on a down day they make us smile. Paloma’s cutest habit is that every night after dinner, she waits for her dad to lie on the floor so she can rest on him for neck kisses. The truth is that everything she does makes us smile.

They have such short legs!

In 2018, she was diagnosed with lymphoma, and we chose to treat her with chemo as she is so young and has so much fight in her. We needed to give it a shot. Almost 18 months on and she is still beating cancer. Everything she does is special to us – as you can imagine she is so spoiled, even more than she was before she got ill!

Kyuss is a food obsessed mummy’s boy. We know it’s very naughty but his endless tricks to get more treats makes us laugh. We love to take them both out on long walks, which I’m not sure we’d do without them. The longest walk we have done is 10 miles – not bad considering they have such short legs! They love our country walks and always stay close by, not down to good training but because they’re total wimps!

Kyuss and Paloma bring so much joy into our home – or, their home rather, because let’s face it, we’re just here to provide treats and kisses!