Adele may not be Leo’s owner, but he has had a huge impact on her life – even helping her to recover from a recent hip operation

This is my grand-dog, Leo. My son and his partner own him, but we look after him frequently while they are at work. As soon as they got him, I instantly bonded with him. He’s a Shiba Inu, a very funny, quirky breed. This is very apt, as my eldest son lives and works in Japan.

When Leo sees you, it’s like you’re the only person in his life – his whole body wags and he smiles. He doesn’t bark, just woofs and makes a strange whining noise. He doesn’t like water at all, so he has to be carried over puddles and he always walks around large areas of water. He also loves to be brushed as he has lots of thick fur. Once you start, he just lays upside down, literally smiling.

I recently had my hip replaced. On the evening I came home, my son brought him round. He jumped on the bed and just lay at my side, looking up and smiling. He knew he couldn’t jump on me. I call him my therapy dog. He has helped no end in my recovery. I walk him with my husband on my sticks, and if I stop, he stops.

He's very stubborn, and if he doesn’t want to walk, he often has to be carried home. He’s definitely a magnet for affection. Everyone thinks we are walking a fox. He loves everyone and just wants to play with every dog he meets. Shibas are renowned for their lack of recall, but we’ve had no problems with Leo at all. He loves his ball, which has helped with that.

Leo is not a morning dog. He loves to sleep and comes to life later in the day. My son also has two cats who came first, so Leo had to adapt and often slept in their basket with them. He thinks they are dogs and tries to mouth them. One can tolerate it, but the other doesn’t. He knows his place! They often sleep side by side and it’s lovely to see.

I’ve never had dogs before, but I totally understand why people have them. He has brought so much happiness to our family. Such a lovely cuddly teddy bear.

He has brought so much happiness to our family

Wolfie has brightened up Tatiana’s life with his playfulness and friendliness, and he has even helped her to make the office a happier place!

We rescued Wolfie six months ago, and since then he has made our life so much better and happier. Wolfie is perfectly trained, super intelligent and has managed to learn six new tricks even though he is an old dog!

He is sensational at the park and we often get stopped because people want to say hello and take pictures of him. He even comes with me to work and is our office pet.

Everyone that meets him loves him

He also has the cheekiest but funniest personality. You would never guess that he’s 10 years old, and everyone that meets him loves him. He adores playing with all dogs in the park and sometimes forgets how big he is – it’s so funny seeing him play with a tiny puppy!

He is affectionate and loves children, and has made our little family so much happier.

After a turbulent start in life, Chubbs finally found a home when Vicki and her family came to visit his rescue centre

Chubbs is a black and white rescue dog, a Staffy Collie cross, who originally hailed from Ireland. His Mum was a stray, who was taken into MADRA, with a litter of eight puppies in August 2019.

Chubbs was originally rehomed to a lovely family but sadly their circumstances changed and a few months later they had to give him back. He was then transferred to Birmingham Dogs Home in Wolverhampton for rehoming in the UK, and his siblings went to homes in Galway, the Midlands and Dublin.

Our daughter works at BDH Wolverhampton and we’d spent a long time deciding whether getting a dog was right for us. One day we went to visit her at work and the rest, as they say, is history!

He’s made our world complete

There was this beautiful floof of a pup, sat looking goofy in his window. We walked past him several times and each time he caught our eye. We looked at lots of residents that day, but it was Chubbs that tugged our heartstrings the most. So, a week later, we drove home with our new family member.

I was intrigued to know more about him, and through the power of Facebook, I was also able to trace some of his siblings. We still exchange messages with their owners today!

He was called Chubbs as a pup, and though we toyed with other names, it didn’t seem quite right to change. He’s VERY food oriented, and as I always say, ‘Chubbs by name and nature’.

I said that Chubbs is a ‘rescue’, but what I didn’t make clear is that he also rescued us. He’s brought so much love and happiness into our lives. We now have a purpose – a reason to get up, a reason to go out in all weathers, a reason to explore new dog-friendly places and a reason to rush home as soon as we can for more love, fun and adventure. He’s made our world complete.

Casper’s cheerful demeanour and cheeky sense of humour make him a great addition to Kay’s family

Our lovely Casper is 13 in March and this is his and our story so far. We went to meet him and his brothers and sisters and my son said which one should we choose. My son was sat on the floor and Casper had fallen asleep on his knee. We pointed out that Casper had chosen him and us.

A few weeks before we were due to collect Casper we got a call from his breeder saying that he had to have a little op and we didn't have to have him. My son said Casper was definitely ours.

Casper has some lovely traits and everyone who meets him loves him commenting on his gentle friendly manner and his waggy tail. He is very cheeky. For our doorbell we have a plug-in tester inside our house. It has a button on it and it lights up and the bell rings if pressed. When we are not watching Casper presses it with his nose. The bell rings and Casper barks as if someone is at the door and looks towards it. We go to see who is at the door and realise what our cheeky Casper has done. We look around at him and he is wagging his tail!

Casper's favourite place is the beach. He loves a stone being kicked for him so he can chase it, dig a hole around it and lay outstretched in the hole with the stone looking out. He makes us smile and other people on the beach.

I was recently unwell and sitting on the sofa. Casper gently jumped up resting his paws on my knees to comfort me. He is very caring and thoughtful. Casper is 13 next month and just as playful as he was as a puppy. He is so very special.

He is very caring and thoughtful

Shadow has come a long way since Ashley and her partner rescued him as a puppy, and now he’s their favourite travel companion

My partner and I started our search for our first ever dog five and a half years ago. We knew we wanted to rehome to a rescue, so we got in contact with lots of charities. That’s when we saw a scruffy black dog who had just made his way to the UK after being rescued from the streets in Romania.

After meeting at his foster home (and noticing he’d grown A LOT in the few weeks since his rescue), we brought that scruffy puppy home. It just so happened that his name was already Shadow, which I loved as Homeward Bound was my favourite childhood movie! In the first few months, as he got used to living in a home for the first time, we started to think ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?!’ But with weekly training sessions and agility, he soon got the hang of his home life.

He makes our little family of three complete

Fast forward a couple of years, and we decided to buy a motor home and travel Europe for six months. Now Shadow is a big dog, so we were a little apprehensive about him in our small home on wheels, but he took to life on the road like a duck to water. Every time we pulled up in a new place, he’d be at the windscreen begging to get out and explore!

In the past five years, we’ve taken Shadow to 12 countries, up countless mountains, on boats, on trains and just about anywhere else we could! He’s our best friend and he makes our little family of three complete.

Niki adores her kind, caring and hilarious dog Lottie, who never fails to make her smile

Our pooch Lottie has got bucket loads of character. Whenever anyone comes round to visit, she automatically thinks they’re there to see her andgets her toys out to show off!

She’d just lie there with me

When I was off work a couple of years ago, she never left my side. I’d spend all day resting on the sofa and she’d just lie there with me. Lottie has three feline companions who she adores, and regularly tries to round up as though they’re hers to look after.