Despite Roxy’s health problems, Sarah feels fortunate to have her in her life

We bought Roxy from a farm while we were on holiday in Llandudno, Wales. I was buying a drink, and an old collie came up to greet me. I told the farmer how lovely he was, and he responded with: “Do you want a puppy?”

The rest is history.

Roxy’s had a difficult time with her health. Five years ago, she developed epilepsy. The first time we saw her having a seizure was heartbreaking – being unable to help feels terrible. The worst part is that afterwards, for a short while, she’s really scared and doesn’t know who we are. Then, it’s like a switch is flicked and she comes running to us crying.

Roxy is so loving

She’s now on two different types of medication, and although her seizures aren’t quite under control yet, she still copes well.

Roxy is so loving and is always happy to see us. She hops on the sofa whenever anyone sits down and snuggles into them. She’s very tolerant, too. For instance, since we’ve had her we’ve got two cats, two house rabbits and a tortoise. She’s accepted every one of them into her home and they all follow her around as if she’s their mum – even the tortoise!

In the absence of sheep, she loves to chase a ball. I think she sees it as her job. She also has the softest head to stroke!

All in all, she’s amazing and we’re incredibly lucky to have her.

After a few turbulent years, senior rescue dog Danny finally found his forever home with Annabel and her family

Danny is a German Shorthaired Pointer from Cyprus, where he was found in a kill shelter. He was looked after in a rescue shelter then flown to the UK and sent to a foster home. A few months later, he was adopted.

He’s very fit and active for his age

But after nine months, his owners’ circumstances changed, and they had to make the hard decision to find him another home. This is where we came in. We adopted Danny the day before lockdown, and he joined our other two GSPs.

He’s a very vocal boy, and certainly lets us know when he wants something, whether it’s his meals or his tennis ball, his most favourite thing ever! He’s very fit and active for his age, and he loves his walks with his fur brother and sister – another Cyprus rescue who we adopted last May.

Eve always knew Finley was cheeky, but she didn’t realise how cheeky until she found out what he’d been getting up to every time she went to work

Finley is as sweet as a dog could get. We have had such an amazing bond since the day he was born. He is so loyal, cheeky and playful – I really don’t know what I would do without him.

I live at home with my family and we have always had a strict ‘no dogs upstairs’ rule in place, but recently that has become a little lax. Finley loves nothing more than being upstairs and sleeping on the end of my bed. Though I have to say, the 6am wake up calls from him laying on my chest and wagging his tail so hard he could almost take off aren’t always appreciated!

He was taking underwear out of my washing basket and stashing it underneath the sofa

I work alternating day and night shifts, so whenever I’m not there Finley would look around my room for me and have a general sniff around. Or at least that’s what I thought he was doing.

It turns out every time I wasn’t there, Finley was taking a set of underwear out of my washing basket and stashing it underneath the sofa. One night I came home earlier than expected, and when I walked upstairs there was Finley with the guiltiest look on his face and a pair of knickers in his mouth.

I asked for them back and he just RAN. At 3am, this is the last thing I wanted to do, but there I was chasing Finley round the house whilst trying to be as quiet as possible. He was in his element. And it’s safe to say, I now put the lid on my washing basket!

No matter what life throws at them, Carol and her dog Bea know that they can get through it together.

Me and my best friend Bea have supported, and in some ways saved, each other in the four years since we met at a local rehoming centre. Bea came to me after being picked up on a motorway, having been hit by a vehicle. After six months of rehabilitation, which saw her learn to use her leg again after losing around 4cm of bone, she was on the road to recovery.

Bea gave me purpose to continue

It was during this time that a life-changing event happened in my life – one that brought me great loss and grieving. If it wasn’t for the love of my girl Bea, I would have struggled to carry on, but to know that she was there and needed my help, gave me purpose to continue. I saved her, so in turn she saved me. I couldn’t ask for a more loyal and loving companion.

Blossom’s overbite meant she was no longer valuable to breeders, but their loss was Lyndsey’s gain as the pair have now formed an unbreakable bond

Blossom is originally from Ireland where she was used for breeding. It wasn’t long before they realised that she was passing on her overbite, reducing the value of her puppies. They no longer wanted her, so she went to Many Tears rescue centre in Wales.

From there she went to a foster home, before being adopted by a family. Sadly, this didn’t last long due to a marriage breakdown, so it was back to Many Tears, into another foster home, and then we met her and she came home with us. This was all before she was five years old.

We’ve now had Blossom for three years and it’s like she’s always been here. It took her about a year before she would let us rub her belly, and she’s still not 100% sure about my husband. But she’s my shadow and will follow me wherever I go. It’s a bond I’ve never had with any other dog I’ve owned and it’s so special. She’s been my jogging buddy, my marathon-walking buddy, my isolation buddy, and everything in between.

We absolutely adore every little hair on her

To see her character come out over the years has been absolutely beautiful. Watching her enjoying walks, trips in the car, days out as a family, scratches and her spectacular zoomies around our garden truly warms my heart. She is fantastic with both my daughters, and she even loves the guinea pigs!

There isn’t a bad bone in this dog’s body, which astounds me as she had such a rubbish start to her life. She is so patient and kind to our little puppy who joined the family in December, although she could do with being a bit firmer with him as he’s running rings around her!

Honestly, the love that our whole family has for this little ‘potato gremlin’ is immense. She’s our funky little monkey and we absolutely ADORE every little hair on her (though it would be nice if they stayed on her and didn’t stick to everything she touches!).

Michelle’s dog Bix may have been an unexpected addition to the family, but now he’s what makes their house a home

We met Bix in the summer of 2019. As we’d recently lost our beloved dog Hamish, we were too upset to consider adopting another. But, on a trip to the Dog’s Trust to donate some of our items, we saw Bix and fell in love straight away – it was meant to be, and 9 days later he became an official part of our family.

At first he was very timid around us, but now his cheeky character has started to shine through and he is an absolute joy to be around. His funny antics make us laugh every day, and he really does have a beautiful personality.

His cheeky character has started to shine

He loves nothing more than being at home, and upon return to the house will immediately start rolling or running around out of sheer excitement. We tried to tell him he wasn’t allowed to sit on the furniture, but he didn’t listen, and always manages to relax on the sofa and watch TV with us in the evening. He even demands his own pillow to lie on!

Recently, we’ve been video calling my parents every day. Bix insists he makes an appearance on each time, so as soon as he hears their voices he’ll dash into the room and jump in front of the phone screen to say hello.