Millie’s confidence has grown considerably since Dawn rescued her, and now she’s even supporting the newest addition to the family – another rescue dog called Basil

We rescued Millie from Bosnia in June 2020. She was a poor frightened girl who had never been in a house or had any love, and she was destined for the kill shelter.

We had to house train her, give her space, build up her trust with us and teach her to walk with a harness. After six months and lots of memorable moments, she finally blossomed into the most loving, loyal and happy dog.

She brings joy to our lives every day. We walk on the beach and go to nature reserves, coffee shops and cafés. Everyone knows her and she even has her own Facebook page with her brother Basil, who we adopted from Budapest six months after Millie.

She dug up a WWII bomb in our garden

Millie has been Basil’s mentor. He had been badly abused and she has taught him to play and trust other dogs and humans. She puts her paw on his head when he’s anxious and wraps her front legs around him when he’s scared.

Since coming into our lives, Millie has gone swimming in our pond with the fish (who were not impressed). She has dug up a WWII bomb in our garden which resulted in the bomb disposal unit being called out. She has caught a blackbird in her mouth without hurting it, and now they are best of friends. She has rearranged the garden, dug up plants, buried our shoes and climbed the trees to steal bird food.

When we go on holidays together, Millie and Basil come with us, even when we are playing in our band. Our world is a much better place with them in it.

After helping Jacquelyn grieve the loss of her previous dog, Willow has become a very special part of her life

When I lost my last dog at 13 years old, I thought that my broken heart couldn’t be mended, but then Willow came along and filled it with love and joy.

Willow came along and filled my life with love and joy

She is bonkers but kind, gentle and loves everyone. She has helped many people and other dogs overcome their fear of big dogs, particularly German Shepherds. She’s a great ambassador for larger breeds, and she’s also my best friend.

Unfortunately, she thinks she’s a lap dog! She has no concept of personal space – but I wouldn’t change it for a second.

Georgina’s dog Sprocket has oodles of energy, and that’s exactly why she loves him so much

Sprocket is the best thing to ever have happened to our family. His endearing quirks never fail to put a smile on our faces. For instance, he always runs with his legs so straight he looks like a cartoon, and in the evening, he huffs and puffs very loudly before dramatically opening his pen, just to let us know he wants to go to bed.

He can sometimes be a bit of a diva

He’s a tiny bundle of energy and always ready to play. I wouldn’t say he’s spoilt, but he is well-loved and so always enjoys – and expects – a cuddle or two in our bed. He can sometimes be bit of a diva, and we often find ourselves having to pause the TV because he’s making a racket by digging around or barking because he wants to go out.

None of this really matters though, because our little pup is such a sweetheart. We love him for all of his funny habits and his adorable personality.

Chester started life as a lockdown puppy and ended up in a rescue centre at a very young age, but now he’s getting the lifetime of love he deserves thanks to Ezza

I was looking online to find volunteering vacancies in local animal shelters when I saw Chester’s photo on the Irlam rescue centre website. I was surprised to see such a young dog in a shelter already.

It turns out that he was lockdown dog – someone bought him, played with him as a puppy during lockdown and then dropped him off to the shelter when he became an inconvenience. His behavioural and health problems indicated physical abuse too. I couldn’t help it, I had to adopt him, even though I wasn’t really looking to get a dog in the first place.

I couldn’t help it, I had to adopt him

From the minute he got home, he did everything he could to fit in and thank me. He would come and lick my hand after every meal, he would jump around happily every time I said ‘walkies’, and he’d give me little kisses when he was happy. He also learnt to be quiet when I worked from home. Now he will just chill until 5pm without disturbing me, and appear when I finish work to remind me he’s ready for fun.

A couple of weeks after I got him, his harness broke when we were on a walk and he started running towards the street off the leash. I thought ‘that’s it, he’s gone’, as that was a very busy street and I couldn’t chase after him because I had injured my knee recently.

I stood there not knowing what to do as we had only known each other for a few weeks back then. But then something magic happened – he turned around and came back to me. He sat down, looked at me and stayed there still until I got him back on the leash. I knew then that it was meant to be.

Poppy is an important and treasured member of Vicki’s family. Life simply wouldn’t be the same without her

Poppy has been my little ray of sunshine through some pretty tough times. She never fails to make me smile, no matter what’s going on in my life. She is also the apple of my husband’s eye, and was a big part of our wedding – she wore her flower collar with pride and posed perfectly for all the photos!

She makes us laugh every day

We welcomed a baby into our lives in 2019, who has since become a typical toddler. He adores Poppy just as much as we do, and calls her his little ‘Poppy dog’. She really is the gentlest and most understanding dog I’ve ever known. Sadly, she’s battled with arthritis for many years now and has also ruptured her ligament, so we’ve had to swap her field-sprints for some slow and steady pram-walks, but I don’t think she minds too much.

She makes us laugh every day, particularly because she thinks we don’t know that she steals the cat’s biscuits the minute we go to bed – unfortunately for her, she’s clumsy and always knocks the big bowl over, which gives her away every time! Poppy is our crazy pup, always full of energy and ready to play, especially when there are bubbles and balloons involved. She is my constant companion and best friend.

For owner Joanne and family, the addition of Dotty to their lives has been just what they needed

We got Dotty back in January as a rescue dog. Little did we know what an important little dog she would be.

In the morning you wake up to Dotty on your head!

I started to suffer from anxiety and was signed off work for four weeks and Dotty gave me the strength to go out and walk her. Then during lockdown she has been our rock. Our son is autistic and she helps him a lot.

Dotty is a sausage dog crossed with a Jack Russell so is full of energy, jumps runs and keeps us on our feet. Dotty does not like to sleep on her own so spends the night at the bottom of our bed but in the morning you wake up to Dotty on your head! Her favourite things to do are play with her toys and snuggle up to you.