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Great
British Dogs

Meet Lenny

Emma had always been scared of dogs, but Lenny quickly changed all of that. Now, you’ll find them snuggled up on the sofa together.

We rescued Lenny from an animal sanctuary when he was 16-weeks-old. He had been born there and was adopted at 10 weeks, but the family eventually brought him back.

I have always been frightened of dogs, but my husband and children absolutely love animals. We initially went to the sanctuary to adopt a cat, to see how I would get on with my first pet. But instead, we came home with Lenny.

Loves being a part of the family

Lenny is a 32kg Lurcher cross, who thinks he is the size of a Jack Russell! Our nickname for him is ‘little Lenny longlegs’. He spends most of his time cuddling and dozing on the sofa – he loves being a part of the family. He has no concept of personal space, and often just jumps up onto your lap. He also enjoys playing with the kids in the garden and going for long walks in the forest, where he spends his time looking for squirrels.

Not long after he joined our family, we found out my husband’s friend had rehomed Lenny’s mum a few months before. This means Lenny is able to visit her on a regular basis.

He’s so loved and has brought a lot of joy into our family life. He’s soft and affectionate with all of us, and it’s safe to say I’m now a converted fan of dogs! You’ll often find me sat on the sofa, enjoying a long cuddle with Lenny.


Meet Ezra

Ezra helped Katy through her post-natal depression and now he is a patient and gentle companion for her two-year-old son

Ezra is our whippet, our first dog and my first ever dog. He makes us laugh every day with his scattiness and crazy zooming and he gives the best cuddles. He also steals any bit of food available and he has the perfect pointed snout for sniffling the last of my tea, even when I think he's fast asleep.

Ezra was four years old when our little boy was born, two months before the pandemic started. At first, Ezzy was scared of the crying, but he soon came to be a doting big brother.

He’s always there for me

That crying felt like it didn't stop for 13 months though as our son had severe colic, and I spiralled into severe post-natal depression and anxiety. Ezra was, and still is, always there for me. He’s a constant calm support and he’s so patient and gentle with our now two-year-old little boy.

Ezra has really helped put a smile on my face every day, and he got me out of bed or out the house, even when I really didn't want to. I will love him always.


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Meet Freya

Freya had to spend a lot of time in adoption kennels, but it was worth the wait, as she ended up living with Holly and her partner, who absolutely adore her.

Freya turned one this week, but she has already had a lot of upheaval in her first year. She was born a stray in Cyprus, and taken in by a charity over there who brought her to England at just a couple of months old. Once here, she was adopted by a young owner – we don’t know much about him other than he sadly passed away very suddenly soon after adopting Freya.

We couldn’t be more pleased

She ended up in adoption kennels, and shockingly was there for months. Several families came to meet her, but each time they decided she was just too big and lively to be the right fit for them. Although it’s sad that Freya was in kennels for so long as a young pup still developing, it was great news for myself and my partner who eventually found her and took her home.

Staff at the kennels warned she was a bit wild, strong on the lead and over-excitable. We couldn’t be more pleased, this didn’t put us off. Freya is the most peaceful, loving, intelligent dog we could imagine. We’ve had her for three months now, and a day hasn’t gone by where we haven’t been flabbergasted by how lucky we are to have her in our lives. We now love cosying up in front of the fire with her every night, and wandering through the countryside and along the coast with her at the weekends. We can’t imagine life without her.


Meet Jack Daniels

Mary’s pooch Jack Daniels (JD) is able to be a bouncy puppy one minute, and a soothing therapy dog the next.

We adopted JD as a 14-week-old puppy. His previous owner had only had him for five days before deciding it was too much effort to have a dog. The minute he met our daughter, who is autistic with specific learning difficulties, he instantly seemed to know that she needed calmness.

He’s such a natural therapy dog

He does not leave her side when she’s home, and picks up on the signs she is overwhelmed. He lies by her and sticks his head in her hands. At night he sleeps by her bed and when she wakes at night, he lies on top of her. The pressure of him seems to send her back to sleep. He’s such a natural therapy dog.

He is also a crazy young dog who is ball-obsessed and also likes helping dig at the allotment. I can’t believe how lucky we have been to find such a wonderful dog.


Meet Daisy Mae

Rosemary took Daisy Mae in when she was left without an owner, and in return she’s helped her heal from the loss of her previous dog

Daisy Mae lost her owner a few months ago. He had dementia, so she’s now overweight due to overfeeding and lack of exercise. Her owner’s son found me through a rescue centre, and she came straight to me.

She's a failed foster, as I'm adopting her!

She's been through a lot, but she has a lovely temperament and is ever so good. She's my fourth dog, as my last furbaby died nearly two years ago from serious heart disease, which left me heartbroken. But Daisy Mae has mended my heart and brought me such joy.

She's a great companion, and she’s a Staffy, so she’s full of happy wags and lots of kisses and smiles. I live on my own, so she also helps with any feelings of loneliness. And now, she's a failed foster, as I'm adopting her!


Meet Jet

Jet helped Sue and her family heal after the loss of their beloved Banjo, and now he’s like an older brother to their two younger Whippets

Jet came to us with his brother Rebel via Whippet Rescue. We had recently lost our much-loved whippet, Banjo, at the age of three to an awful brain disease. We were heartbroken.

A few weeks after Banjo’s death, we received a phone call asking if we would consider adopting the two brothers. Their owner had become unwell and was no longer able to care for them. They were being passed around family members, none of whom wanted them. We thought long and hard for at least thirty seconds and said we would love them.

Jet is the venerable senior of our little pack

When we picked them up, every bone was visible. They were sunburnt, their ears were like old leather, and they were scared and bewildered. Over the next few weeks, we healed each other. They filled the enormous void left by our beloved Banjo, and we lavished them with good food and lots of TLC. They spent hours relaxing in the garden, and as they became more confident and settled, they helped out by digging and running all over the beds – but we didn’t mind.

We started taking them out in the car and they became firm favourites at our local National Trust property. They also loved trips to the beach as there was so much space to run. Sadly, we lost Rebel to kidney failure in March this year. However, Jet was not left alone as we had adopted a Whippet Bedlington Terrier cross called Reg in 2022.

At the end of May this year, we also had a message from a friend saying there was another Whippet in need, and she knew we had a ‘vacancy’, so Sam came to join us. Jet is the venerable senior of our little pack and keeps an eye on Reg and Sam.


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