Luther is a rescue Miniature Poodle.
When I lost my last dog, I found myself in a really dark place. Then, Luther came along and brightened up my life again! We’re a match made in heaven, and he makes me laugh every day.
We’re soulmates – I can’t imagine life without him
We live in a small village and when we’re out and about, everyone stops to talk to Luther. If he wants to visit the neighbours, he goes and knocks on the door until they answer it.
One of his favourite things is to steal the mail out of the letter box and hide it. He’s laid back, funny, friendly (he loves everybody and everything) and he’s very cheeky, too.
I love him to the moon and back. We’re soulmates – I can’t imagine life without him.
Tilly is my best friend. She was my companion through both my marriage breakup and my son’s terrible time with his mental health.
We have complete trust between us. She caught her leg on a trampoline spring when she was two, and once we managed to release her, I held her until I handed her over to the vet.
We have complete trust between us
She lies next to me on the sofa of an evening, and she always likes to be touching me and giving me 'the look of love’, as I call it. She knows exactly what I’m saying and is a very quiet, thoughtful and intelligent friend. She loves cheese and slices of ham, and she’s very spoilt. She knows she’s my princess!
We got her a new Whippet puppy friend called Sapphire (as she’s blue) this year, and Tilly has been very patient teaching her the ropes. She’s 13 now and getting visibly older, and I dread the day she will leave us.
Nemo is the light and heart of our family. He hasn't had it easy as he was a rescue dog. He was so untrusting and agitated when he came home, but now he's so trusting, loving and playful.
It's very hard to think of a time when we hadn't got Nemo. He's still like a puppy – he greets us every time we leave him even if it’s for one minute. He's also a fantastic guard dog as whenever anyone rings the doorbell they back off. It’s quite funny really seeing a big burly delivery man running to the top of the driveway!
It's very hard to think of a time when we hadn't got Nemo
I'm disabled myself and Nemo is at my side when I really need him. His instincts are spot on. My heart bleeds for him as I think about what his life was like before. He is our rock as he makes our lives much richer and he lights up the whole house with his zoomies round the garden, his barking at the doorbell (realistically the only time he barks), the way he plays with his toys with love and hugs and the occasional tugging of the stuffing.
I could go on forever praising him but I think I've said enough for now. So Nemo thank you for making our lives so glorious and I hope he has a safe and restful life with us because he's certainly made a huge difference to ours.
We adopted Hopper six months ago. He is a Galgo from Spain and was rescued just before Christmas last year. He was taken to Galga del Sol, a charity I am involved with. After a visit to the vets, an x-ray revealed that his leg had been broken so badly it would need to be amputated.
He has really come out of his shell!
It was touch and go after the surgery, but with intense nursing and care he turned a corner and started to improve. We adopted him officially at the end of March this year. At first, he was really timid and scared of people but over the last six months he has really come out of his shell!
We fundraise for this charity and he comes along with us – he has become a bit of an ambassador in my local area. He now loves attention from people and has become a gorgeous, goofy hound who makes us laugh every day and does not let the disability of missing a leg hold him back at all!
Cleo arrived on my doorstep as her owner had become ill and couldn’t keep her. She was referred to as ‘number five’, because she was the fifth dog in the house. It didn’t take long before she made friends with all the others and became a member of our family.
She’s helped me make new friends
She was so caring and spent a lot of time with my lodger, who was unwell.Cleo encouraged him to get out, and the pair of them would go for gentle walks together. Now, she walks with me every day when I go litter picking down by the river. Everyone we meet stops to talk to her, so she’s helped me make new friends, which I’ve especially appreciated throughout the last year.
Cooper came into our lives in December 2019. He is the most laid-back but equally energetic dog I've ever met. A lot of Cooper's development time was spent during lockdown, which was wonderful. He was my little working companion – he would sit on my knee and nap, and now, even though he's almost fully grown, he still does the same! He is a pleasure. He helps to wake up my two young sons every morning. I say: "Go and get the boys", and he runs upstairs and licks them until they get up!
He makes us all smile, every single day
One day, we were practicing recall while on a walk with Cooper. It was going great until he spotted a squirrel and did a complete U-turn and chased after it! Off into the bushes he went. They lead into the woods, so we were all shouting him back, but he didn't come back. The kids were distraught. I retraced the whole of our walk, shouting for him, asking passers-by if they’d seen him. No joy. I headed back to the field and told the kids to go home and wait on the step. I carried on the search, as did my husband, and were both becoming increasingly worried.
My husband called me 30 minutes later. I'd still not found him, nor had he. We both carried on searching, but it was getting dark. Another 20 minutes later my husband called saying, "He's home, he's with the boys". Cooper had come tottering back home, covered in all kinds, with a look on his face as if to say, "Where did you go?". We were over-joyed. We couldn't even be mad at him because of this look he had on his face. He makes us all smile, every single day.