Rosie, who was born on the summer solstice, lights up the room without saying a word. She’s at her happiest when she’s running along the beach chasing the birds, though she never actually catches any. Rosie loves to skip over rocks and never slips, no matter how much seaweed there is.
She’s ginger, fluffy and loyal
She’s ginger, fluffy and loyal, and our whole family absolutely adores her. All of us have a picture of her saved as our screensaver, and she’s definitely the favourite family member. She’s taught us love, loyalty and trust and that’s something we will always be grateful for.
Dora was rescued by the RSPCA in September 2022, and came into our lives when we adopted her in May 2023. She had survived starvation and neglect at the hands of her trainer, who was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison and given a lifetime ban from owning animals.
Dora is a sweet, bright and affectionate baby. She’s quite the comedian and wakes us up every morning by howling in our faces. She loves to 'curtsy' to greet people when they come into the house. She lightens up our work calls by laying on her back behind us and pulling goofy faces.
I want to give her as many experiences as I can to make up for her life before
Her favourite trick at the moment is to jump as high as she can when we leave the house on our walks. She also likes to outrun her best friend, Jadzia the German Shepherd, and play chase with her.
To me, Dora is an inspiration. She’s a reminder than no matter what you go through in life, you can't stop and wallow in misery. She’s a brave girl who genuinely loves humans and craves attention and affection. She makes my life better and I love thinking about the happy days I will give her.
She inspires me to look after myself, so that I can look after her. I’ve been to places I never would have gone, just because I want to give her as many experiences as I can to make up for her life before. She’s the best decision I've ever made.
Loki came to me as a five-month-old pup. Sadly, he needed one of his front legs removing following an accident. Having only three legs has never slowed him down, and his enthusiasm for life is infectious. He has walked up mountains with me, gone camping in Scotland and assisted me in the running of my B&B. Currently, he’s supervising the new patio area we’re creating, which I’m sure he’ll love to sunbathe in!
I sometimes see Loki roll his eyes at Thor
Loki may be small, but he has a large personality and an even bigger heart. He loves our other dog, Thor. They’re so funny together, and I’m sure I sometimes see Loki roll his eyes at Thor when he’s being silly. It’s so adorable to see them snuggled up or enjoying a game of tug and war.
My dogs are my whole world, and I’m so glad Loki found me when he needed my help.
I've grown up with dogs all my life. I used to have two German Shepherds, Sabre and Levi. By the time we sadly lost my two best friends, I was 21 and was just beginning my life after university. I met my partner and moved to Manchester for work. Since the beginning of our relationship, I made it clear that I wanted to have a dog in my life again. Sometimes, it felt like it might not happen for another 10 years with work and so on.
But everything fell into place in November 2019 when we brought Millie, our Labradoodle, into our lives. My boyfriend has never had a dog before and Millie has 100% stolen his heart and made him as dog-obsessed as me.
Having Millie in our life is like a hole has been filled
She's the most loving and chilled out puppy I have ever known. I was ready for the madness and chaos that comes with a puppy but we never really had it. She has many quirks, including sitting upright on the sofa like a human being. She loves to snuggle up into your arms and she's the perfect size to do so.
She is tennis ball-mad, and makes us take her out at 8 pm on the dot for her tennis ball chasing hour! Morning walks are reserved for a gentle stroll through our local woods.
Having Millie in our life is like a hole has been filled. Taking her for her morning walk gives me such a feeling of calm before the day ahead. It's our special time when nothing else in the world matters.
Our life now revolves around planning adventures with Millie and doing everything we can to give her the best years of her life. We often ask ourselves what we used to do before we had a dog. Watching her grown, learn and blossom into an adult dog fills us with so much pride – we can kind of see why people might have children!
Playa was found with her siblings at the side of the road when she was just a few days old. The litter was fostered, and Playa was adopted but sadly returned after a while. I happened to meet her her at an adoption drive in a pet shop a few months later. I had only gone in to buy cat milk for our newly adopted kitten, Peanut, but I just knew as soon as I saw her that Playa was meant to be ours.
The two of them are inseparable
She immediately fit right into our busy household, along with our new kitten, Peanut, and two other cats. She loved Peanut from the moment she laid eyes on her, and to this day the two of them are inseparable and even sleep in the same bed. Peanut sees Playa as a toy and chase and bite her tail, but Playa just licks her back.
Playa loves everyone and everything. Our friend has a son who has autism, and he can be intimidated by dogs because of their unpredictable fast movements. But he has no fear of Playa, and loves sitting on the sofa and cuddling with her. Playa shows tremendous patience with all children and young dogs, and is always so gentle and calm around them.
My daughter, Felicity, bought Shirley as a puppy (I loaned her the money to buy her). She always wanted a pug and finally got one when she was 25 years old. Felicity absolutely loved her little dog, who even featured on top of her wedding cake in sugar form! Shirley became a doting carer for Felicity’s children, too.
Sadly, Felicity passed away aged 34, leaving her two boys (aged two and four), as well as Shirley the dog.
Shirley is such a wonderful little dog who is just full of love
Felicity’s husband found it difficult to care for Shirley, so we adopted her. She spent a lot of time with us anyway, so it wasn’t too much of a trial coming to live with us, particularly as she was aging. As a 15-year-old dog, I think she liked being with two retired oldies.
She snuggles up to us on the sofa every night and has been such a comfort to us. Shirley is such a wonderful little dog who is just full of love.