Woody might not be the most well-behaved dog, but John knew that he had strength of character as soon as he saw him

Woody is a dog in a million. I’ve had him ever since he was a pup. When I visited the Dog’s Trust centre, I chose him because he was the only one to approach me and with head held high. I thought to myself – he's got gumption and he likes me!

His head held high

It was hard work at first, because he chewed everything in sight, including my furniture – but he was so worth it. I took him to training classes and he did well, but at the formal assessment, he took off around the room when he was told to stay. He ran round and around at full pelt, chairs a-rattling, while all looked on – even the judges laughed!

My gorgeous dog began to have awful seizures a few months ago, including cluster fits. I was so scared for him but his enormous strength of character and resilience carries him – and me – through. I'm so proud of him, and could not love him more. And he still holds his head high!

With Tyler’s help, Harry has transformed from a neglected rescue dog to a cheeky little chap, enjoying his senior years

We adopted Harry roughly two months ago from Dogs Trust and, since having him in our life, we feel whole.

Harry hadn’t had the easiest start. When he was first donated to Dogs Trust, he was so matted that they didn’t even know if he was a boy or girl. Our poor baby was known as Harriet for a while, until his matted fur was shaved, and they discovered he was in fact a boy!

We like to think it’s us who saved him, but I think it’s the other way round!

From the first photo we saw of Harry, we knew we had to make him part of our family. It didn’t matter to us that he was an older dog. I think it bothered him more when he had to suffer several hour-long trips back and forth to have six of his teeth removed – he hated the car more than the dentist!

Harry has settled in well at home and he completes our family. He is super cheeky and will do anything for a treat. He’ll jump, walk on two legs, doggy paddle with his paws and occasionally try to sneak food off our plates. Being old, he can’t walk too far, but he gets super excited when his dad comes home from work and zooms around the house like a baby. Often when we do go on walks, he will refuse to walk home and has to be carried like a new-born – I think he definitely weighs more though!

We are so grateful that Harry is part of our family. He has brought happiness and wholesomeness to our hearts. We like to think it’s us who saved him, but I think it’s the other way round!

Lena the sassy pup has filled Katie’s life with love and laughter.

Rescued from Romania, where she was attacked as a tiny pup, Lena just lights up my life every minute. Left with facial deformities, she is my little snorting hyena.

She is my little snorting hyena

Seeing how far she has come in the (almost) two years since I adopted her gives me such a sense of happiness. She has given me a purpose and something to care for when, at times, I can feel like I am not worth much.

Filled with so much sassiness and energy, she is (in my eyes) the best, purest gremlin ever.

As an older dog, Kyra has spent a great many years looking out for Marigold and her family

Kyra is an amazing Bernese Mountain dog who’s reached the amazing age of 12 years and six months. She’s a very fit, healthy and loving girl, and she’s very protective of me and my grandchildren.

When one of the grandchildren fell at the age of three, Kyra ran over to protect her and pick her up. Or whenever the grandchildren had a sleepover, she would go to their bedroom, listen to their bedtime story, and then go to sleep between their beds.

She’s very protective of me and my grandchildren

Once after I had a hip operation, I decided to go for a little walk with her, and a man came creeping out of the woods. She stood between me and him to protect me.

When I leave my jacket around, she’ll empty the pockets of dog treats. And every morning she comes over to my bed to give me a good morning kiss and bring me my clothes.

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.

Sharon has a soft spot for Mabel the mischief maker.

Mabel is a blonde bundle of fluffy fun, with a laid-back personality. She loves everyone and she thinks that everyone automatically loves her!

She thinks that everyone automatically loves her!

I love that she is a bit of a monkey, who totally doesn’t care if she has done something wrong. She just looks at you with her big brown eyes as if to say ‘what’s the problem?’

My favourite thing to do is cuddle her, as well as teaching her new tricks. Now she can high-five, beg, give a paw and roll over.