Thanks to clever Lexi, Dominic knows when he’s going to have a diabetic episode

I have type 2 diabetes and Lexi has never been trained to know when I'm about to experience either hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia due to my diabetes, but over the first year we had her, my wife noticed she would come and lay down beside me when I was about to have one or the other.

She is my little life saver

So now, when Lexi comes over and lays down next to me, I know I'm about to have either a hypo or hyper, and my wife can test my blood sugar levels. She is my little life saver.

Katie know Nim was the dog for her when she was only a four-week-old pup, and since then she’s only continued to prove her right

Nim has only been in my life for 11 months, but I met her on the day she was born. And when she tried to drink some of my gin at four weeks old, I knew that was it – we were best friends for life.

She is the happiest and most trusting little spaniel. She loves a beach walk and digging holes, often barking and growling as she digs as she gets cross when the sand falls back in! She also loves an open field where she leaps like a gazelle through long grass.

My life has never felt more fulfilled

She adores all of the people in her life, and she likes to round everyone up and keep them together. When visiting my mum and dad (her grandparents), she won’t settle down to relax until we’re all squashed onto the same sofa. Otherwise, she spends all night swapping from seat to seat and glaring at whoever dares to sit elsewhere.

She is consistently the reason I get up in the morning, and the reason I travel around the country to visit beautiful places that I think she deserves to see. I work very hard to provide the life for her that she deserves, and my life has never felt more fulfilled than it has since the day she came home.

When Paula bought a miniature schnauzer for her daughter, she never expected to find out that ‘he’ was in fact a female dog – now known as Sadie

My daughter, Eve, had been on a campaign to get a dog since she was two years old. Every birthday or Christmas when we asked what she would like for a present, she always replied ‘a dog’.

At age 13, she said if we didn’t get one before she was 14 we could forget it as she’d get one when she left home. This made us realise that we had no good reason not to get one. So, for Christmas that year, we bought Eve a lead and dog bowl to show our commitment, and the day after Boxing Day we had a little mini schnauzer called Freddie.

She has us all wrapped around her little paw

After a few days, the breeder rang us to ask if we’d been to the vet (we had, and the vet said he hadn’t ‘dropped’ yet) and then asked for the puppy back as ‘he’ was a girl who someone wanted to breed from! Of course, now we were completely besotted with her so couldn’t part with her.

Sadie is small but mighty and makes her gentle presence felt – she has us all wrapped around her little paw. She makes us laugh, melts our hearts every day and has been the best thing we’ve ever done as a family.

Kai struggles with eating, but his owner Sandra has always been there to help

Kai is a Boxer dog. We collected him on Valentine’s Day 2018, when he was eight weeks old. Right from the start, we thought there was something wrong as he was always sick. We took him to vets and the first x-rays told us he had a large oesophagus. Then we went to hospital for a Visio camera, and they told us he has megaesophagus, which means he can’t eat normal dog food, biscuits or anything hard. He can’t even have water.

Initially, all his food had to be blended so it was very soft, and we fed him by hand from a height so it would go down to his stomach. After feeding, he had to be held upwards for at least 20 minutes. He was fed in our arms up to five times a day.

As he got older, my husband made him his first Bailey chair, where I would feed Kai and then he would sit there for his ‘up time’. It was hard for the first couple of years but started to ease a bit in his third year. He’s now five years old, and last year he started having treats and drops of water throughout the day. He’s still fed three times a day in his chair, followed by his up time.

He's small for his age and he’s often mistaken for a puppy – he’s maybe only 50% of a normal dog’s size, but he gives us 100% love. He loves to snuggle up to us. He’s also a typical Boxer in many ways and he has all the usual traits. He knows what he wants and how to get it. We wouldn’t change him for the world.

He’s maybe only 50% of a normal dog’s size, but he gives us 100% love

Rags loves to play and meet new people, and keeps constantly keeps Kathryn on her toes!

Since we got Rags, she’s been through the mill a bit, but you would never know it due to her zest for life!

She’s the most beautiful and sociable dog

She’s the most beautiful and sociable dog – we can’t walk five yards without someone wanting to fuss her. Her favourite things to do are zoomies in the garden (and if I am feeling brave, the local forest) and digging sand on the beach.

She loves being fussed over by members of the public and having play dates with her doggy friends in the village.

Ever since Scout’s life was saved as a puppy, Tracey has been working hard to put that kindness back out into the world

I didn’t know how much I needed Scout until he crash-landed (literally) into my arms as a puppy. Abandoned on the streets and left to fend for himself, he was eventually picked up and taken to a pound. He was emaciated, suffering from mange and kennel cough, and believed to be both blind and deaf, so they thought it might be kinder to put him to sleep. After all, who would want a puppy with so many problems?

Luckily, thanks to the heroic efforts of three amazing rescue organisations, Scout’s life was saved. We were lucky enough to adopt him a short time later and he turned our world upside down. Although he’s not deaf, he’s completely blind, but this hasn’t held him back in the slightest. He climbs mountains, paddles in the sea and runs freely with his canine pals.

Throughout Scout’s life, we’ve been on a mission to repay the kindness that was shown to him as a puppy. For instance, he’s been a much-loved therapy dog, visiting a local dementia care home to spread joy and love. He’s also the adopted mascot for a local community carers café.

Over the years, Scout has helped to raise thousands of pounds for a local dog rescue, attending meet and greets, street collections, and lending a paw on tombola stalls. During lockdown, he managed to raise £500 by fronting an online dog show. He’s also attended Crufts several times, supporting anti-puppy farming campaigns, and even helping to launch a charity foundation.

Scout gave me my life back. After my first dog was tragically killed by another dog on a walk, I developed severe anxiety about walking outside, but owning Scout made me strong. I’m his eyes, so he needs me to be confident and unafraid, and keep him safe. Out and about, he always puts a smile on people’s faces with his quirky high-stepping gait – a result of his blindness. Scout is my inspiration, my hero and my best friend.

He always puts a smile on people’s faces