It’s no exaggeration to say that Thelma has changed Debbie’s life, allowing her to regain her confidence.

My dog gave me my life back. I suffer from Anxiety and Depression and a few years ago, I couldn't speak and didn’t leave the house. My dad found an opportunity to train dogs for a charity, so I plucked up the courage and applied. A few months later a little eight-week-old Golden Retriever called Thelma came into our lives. She was a cute, golden ball of fluff who quickly melted our hearts. She is the best thing to ever happen to me.

Made our lives so much better!

Her smiley face and silly ways have brought us all so much joy. She alerts me when I'm having an anxiety attack by nudging me and giving me a cuddle, which really calms me down. This has helped me to leave the house on my own and find my voice again, because when I’m with her people don’t want to talk to me – it’s Thelma they’re interested in!

Thelma is the most happy, caring and loving dog you will ever meet, and she’ll always give you lots of kisses! She loves eating (who doesn't?) and helping people. She can pick things up for me, put things in the washer and out again and even does the dusting.

Everyone that meets her agrees she’s an amazing dog. Without her, I wouldn’t have a job or be where I am in life today. She’s changed my whole world and I couldn’t be without her.

Sharon is grateful for the joy and good times that Bobby Dog has brought into her life, even if she’s not his favourite human!

Bobby Dog came to us from Romania back in 2016. He was nervous but trusting, and he soon settled into our mad house.

He is very caring and loves us all!

He is so loving and funny, and he’s brought a lot of laughter into our lives. He is very caring, and he loves us all, but he has a particularly special bond with his Man Cub, (my son) Harvey. The two of them are best buds!

Bobby Dog always comes on adventures with us and enjoys life to the full.

Mark’s dog Dobby has many quirky habits that bring his family endless joy

Dobby is a Whippet and Italian greyhound cross who always makes us laugh. He enjoys stealing people’s socks, running very fast around Chesterracecourse and pinching our toast, but what he loves most is climbing intothe basket of warm washing after it has been tumble dried.

He enjoys stealing people’s socks

He has made a real difference to our family life during the pandemic. My daughter has always wanted a dog and he has provided her so much comfort over the last six months, helping her to get out and exercise and stay positive. He can be a little over enthusiastic at times, but that’s just part of his charm.

Ursula’s love for her dog Coco knows no bounds, and over the years, they’ve been a huge support to one another

We rehomed Coco when she was only 15 weeks old. At the time, she was extremely fearful and was in a bad way behaviourally.

Within a few weeks however, she started to trust us and became very in tune with my illness – lying beside me and alerting my husband whenever I was having an episode.

She’s my unofficial therapy dog

Now, six years later, I can groom her, clip her claws and clean her ears and eyes. She trusts me when we visit the vets, which used to be traumatic for her. She loves her food and snuggles and despite still having some fear within her, she’s my unofficial therapy dog.

I love her to the moon and back.

Bibi brings endless joy to Lisa’s life, and she’s also been great at helping her son with his epilepsy

Bibi is an absolute joy! She is a rescue pooch from Bulgaria, and we’ve had her for five years now. She was found on the streets with seven other pups. We saw her and wanted to give her the life she deserves.

She’s a beautiful angel that’s been sent from heaven

She’s very shy but since we’ve had our new puppy Bonnie she’s really come out of her shell. When she first arrived, she’d never seen traffic, a TV or dog toys before – everything was new to her.

My son was diagnosed with epilepsy five years ago and she always knew when he was going to have a seizure. While he was having one, she would lay by his bedroom door and bark and then lie on him. Honestly, she’s a beautiful angel that’s been sent from heaven. She’s gorgeous inside and out. We spoil her so much and she deserves it.

Loving, affectionate and bursting with boundless joy, Sylvie couldn’t be more adored by her owner Jennifer

Our Sylvie is a Dalmatian cross Collie which means she’s all energy, stamina and chaos, but she’s our little cuddle bug, too!

She takes very good care of us humans and is an unofficial wellbeing officer when we’re working from home. If work ever leaves us feeling stressed, she climbs up onto our laps and won’t move until we’ve had a lovely de-stressing cuddle (and face lick).

We’re very lucky to have such a wonderful dog in our lives

She’s also learning DIY support, meaning she’s getting quite good at taking the tools away (now we’re just working on bringing them back!).

Her favourite games are hide and seek, chasing a ball and of course, anything that involves tearing up paper.

Sylvie makes every day brighter and we wouldn’t be without our sock-stealing, cheese-loving friend. We’re very lucky to have such a wonderful dog in our lives.