Even though she hasn’t been part of Maya’s family for long, Sunny has made every day brighter since her arrival

When Sunny was born, she was the only survivor of her litter, so she’s been both a blessing and a miracle to our family.

She’s a confident ball of energy who enjoys nothing more than digging, jumping over anything in sight and climbing trees (yes, she climbs trees). When she isn’t doing that, she’s exploring new sights and smells.

Sunny had her first experience on a beach in Whitby recently. Then a week later, it was her first time in knee-deep snow. She loves a visit to a café for a doggy ice cream or two, while she curiously watches her fellow dog pals.

Sunny has brought so much joy to our lives, and she gives us a reason to carry on when times get tough. We have big plans for our girl to live out a full life with us, and we’ll never stop adventuring.

She gives us a reason to carry on when times get tough

Wolfie has brightened up Tatiana’s life with his playfulness and friendliness, and he has even helped her to make the office a happier place!

We rescued Wolfie six months ago, and since then he has made our life so much better and happier. Wolfie is perfectly trained, super intelligent and has managed to learn six new tricks even though he is an old dog!

He is sensational at the park and we often get stopped because people want to say hello and take pictures of him. He even comes with me to work and is our office pet.

Everyone that meets him loves him

He also has the cheekiest but funniest personality. You would never guess that he’s 10 years old, and everyone that meets him loves him. He adores playing with all dogs in the park and sometimes forgets how big he is – it’s so funny seeing him play with a tiny puppy!

He is affectionate and loves children, and has made our little family so much happier.

Grief is an overwhelming thing. But, by simply being by her side, Hero has been an invaluable source of comfort for Julie.

Hero, a rescue dog, came into my life after my husband died. I took him in initially to be part of the family and to train up at agility.

But dealing with the death of my husband then took its toll on me and I now find life very hard to deal with. There is so much that I feel unable to do without support – and that support is coming from all my dogs, but especially Hero who is constantly by my side.

It’s almost as if we’re healing each other

He reads my emotions and responds in the way he feels best. He is now on the way to becoming my emotional support dog. He was such a mess when I took him on, it’s almost as if we’re healing each other. With his help, I hope to get back some normality and I eventually want to see him compete with the rest of our dogs in agility.

Katie and her family were struggling with Freddy’s behavioural issues until Frank the pug came into their lives

Six months ago, we rehomed Freddy, a five-month-old Husky cross. He was a kind, funny bundle of energy. A month or so after his arrival, we started to notice some strange behaviours. And, after months of back and forth with vets and behaviourists, it was established that Fred suffered from a stress disorder, verging on PTSD.

With lots of work, Fred has been improving day by day, but the one thing that didn’t change was his distress when other dogs walked away from him or didn’t interact.

I work closely with a rescue centre in my job. They asked if we’d try fostering as it would help us with Fred, while also helping an unwell pug who wasn’t happy in rescue. We went over with Fred and took them both for a walk in the forest. Frank, the pug, was pretty tolerant of Fred’s manic leaping and pawing – he just waggled his little bottom and carried on.

Instantly it was like they understood one another

Frank moved in and instantly it was like they understood one another. Frank was due to have BOAS surgery so his breathing was awful, and quite hard to listen to. Fred’s yelping in the car ended almost instantly and instead he would lean against the wall of Frank’s crate, and Frank would lean back onto him.

Fred is still erratic at times, but Frank has totally changed him and our famiy life. He’s 10 days post BOAS surgery now and is the happiest, most loving boy. As both are rescues, we cannot ever imagine how someone chose to abandon either of them.

I think it’s important for people to see that dogs which require more work are also more rewarding. Everything we achieve with Fred or Frank leaves us full of pride. The boys are the very best of friends and we’re so glad we took the leap into changing Frank from our foster dog to Fred’s big (or little) brother.

The two happiest, kindest, oddest pair of dogs in the world, but the best match!

Nicola is so grateful to have a companion as loyal and loving as Rogue

I lost my hair in 2017 due to alopecia and developed chronic fatigue syndrome in the same year as a result of severe stress. It was a real blow, as I used to be outdoorsy and sporty, and I was left spending a lot of my time indoors and isolated.

I’d wanted a dog for years, but my working life meant it was never really possible for me to get one. In February 2018, I finally convinced my partner that a dog would be great for my confidence, for my mental health, for companionship and to encourage me to get outside again. Shortly after, we drove two hours to Leeds and back to bring home Rogue, our German Shorthaired Pointer.

She even brings me the post

She’s given me a reason to get out of bed and to get outside (twice a day, every day for at least an hour). I’ve trained her to pick things up and carry them for me including light shopping bags from the car, and she even brings me the post.

A while ago, we moved to a house with a two-acre garden and completed a two-year renovation. At every stage she was there to “help” the tradesmen and to “quality inspect” any materials arriving on site by running off down the garden with them and throwing them around in the air. She was checking their sturdiness for the job, clearly.

Now the house is finished she spends most of her time with me in the garden. I’m planning to start a veg bed and flower patch, so she helps by digging holes – just not always where I want them!

Mary’s loveable dogs, Pippy and Mollie, have helped her to get through lockdown

I had to shield during lockdown, and I found it really hard. Without the love and care l got from Pippy, l don't think l would have made it through.She made me laugh with her funny antics, cuddled me all night and checked up on me during the day.

Basically a real-life Scooby Doo

Pippy is hilarious and obsessed with food. Not a day goes by when she doesn’t steal a spoonful of my porridge in the morning! She also loves playing with her ball and is basically a real-life Scooby Doo. If my other dog Mollie loses her ball, Pippy usually finds it and points to it with her nose so Mollie knows where it is, but sometimes, Pippy will just steal it andrun away.

The past twelve months have been so tough, but with my dogs by my side, I’ve got through it all.