Whether Pickle’s chasing, cuddling or finishing ice creams, owner Stephanie finds she’s always a pleasure to be around

We’ve had Pickle since she was two years old, when another family decided they no longer wanted her.

Our youngest daughter had been suffering from mental health issues for several years and persuaded us that a therapy dog would really help her move forward in a positive way.

She brings great joy to our lives

In actual fact, Pickle has been a blessing to the entire family. From daily dog walks, chasing squirrels and learning new tricks, to constant cuddles, making us smile and finishing our ice creams, she brings great joy to our lives.

Pickle has saved our family and helped us navigate difficult times. We cannot imagine life without our gorgeous furry friend, and we love her to the moon and back.

Caroline couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more loving furry friend than her dog Gin

We got Gin during lockdown, and she injected some colour into my very grey life. She is so fun, sweet and kind, and truly doesn’t have a bad bone in her body

She injected some colour into my very grey life

When she was just 14 weeks old, I suffered from a broken knee which meant I had to spend a lot of time resting at home. Gin stayed so patiently by my side the whole time. We expected her to get bored and maybe even a bit naughty with all her unspent energy, but she was an absolute dream.

Now, Gin is seven months old and I’m fully mobile again, so we’re looking forward to lots of long, relaxing walks together.

Joel loves how adventurous his dog Paddington is – she’s always out and about exploring and helping with the farm work.

Paddington love climbing trees, roofs, ladders – basically anything! She was named after Paddington Bear and she definitely lives up to the legacy.

She has her own routine!

She loves spending time on our farm helping with digging or driving the tractors.  She has her own routine of following different people around, depending who needs her help.

We call her a ‘free-range’ dog because she has her own life and we are just here to provide her with treats and food!

Jasper has been a loving and loyal friend to Ann during challenging times

I got Jasper at a very difficult point in my life. My mum had just passed away from cancer, I’d lost my old Labrador after 12 and a half years, and I was recovering from major spinal surgery, too.

During this time, Jasper was a breath of fresh air and gave me a reason to push onwards in life.

He’s the most beautiful little soul

I’ve since had a second spinal operation, and he’s become my carer of sorts. He picks up items for me when I can’t bend down, he gives the best snuggles when I need them, and he makes me smile every single day!

Jasper’s also helping me to walk again – giving me a reason to get up and go places, which has also helped me lose a considerable amount of weight.

He’s the most beautiful little soul and my life wouldn’t have been worth living without my best friend and companion. I love him more than anything in the world.

Denise is constantly amused by how much her dog Meg loves playing with her football-themed toys

It took our dog, Meg, about nine years to be able to play with a toy without totally destroying it. She adopted her first cushion football after rooting through a charity bag of toys and claiming it. We’ve since bought her plenty more because she becomes so attached to them. She plays with them, takes them out into the garden and even falls asleep next to them!

She becomes so attached to them

Meg is not amused when we put her toys in the wash. We’re only forgiven when she can get them back out quickly, sometimes before they’re fully dried. The funniest thing about her obsession is that if you say football, she goes and finds one! She’s a great dog who’s always filling our days with laughter.

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.