Our success stories
On this page you will find some heart wrenching stories of dogs that Help for Dogs have managed to home in the UK!
Repo and Winnie's story and the birth of Help For Dogs
MABLE WAS TOOTSIE TOOTSIE
A few months ago I sat in motorway services at Thurrock, Essex, with the wife, awaiting a van to drop off a small rescue dog from Cyprus called Mable. Apparently, Mable lived for a while in a cement works and had so much cement in her coat that she was handed in to rescuers for help. She also had been hit by a car at some stage and had an injured front leg. She was very timid too. My wife is an amazing woman, and completely mad, and said "oh well, they can survive on three legs", and adopted her.
Just before Mable traveled to the UK, we were told she had badly matted fur and had to be shaved. When we got her she was like a little rat, and I thought, "what the hell have you done now"..
I slept on the floor with Mable, feeding her 3 hourly and forcing tablets down her throat, and carried her down the garden for a wee all throughout the night for a week. I was knackered.
Within 6 weeks, her fur grew back and she now runs down the garden on three legs like Usain Bolt is chasing her.
Yes, she did a wee on the carpet a couple of times, and we had to tell her off for barking at, and chasing the cats, but she is a rescue, so you have to expect a bit of retraining. It took a week.
Now, she has settled in beautifully and is a cherished member of the family. A prettier, more grateful, loving little dog you would struggle to find. Would not swap her for the world. Wives are NEVER wrong (obviously). Thank you Help For Dogs for saving Mable.
Regards Mr & Mrs Clarke
Other Dogs ...
Holly now Luna
Holly was dumped in the same place as Zippy was, likely by hunters who didn’t want her anymore. She was only a few months old and a small pointer cross.She tried for weeks to survive on her own, but eventually she had to ask for help and wandered near to where the houses were and was crying like never been heard before! She was immediately rescued, taken to the vets and spayed and vaccinated and prepped for travel.It wasn’t long before she found a wonderful home in the U.K. and is adored by everyone who meets her. We believe she may have suffered a slight head trauma as when she was rescued she had the remnants of a scar in her head and her behaviour can occasionally be a bit unusual, but it just adds to her charm.
Jexi now Indi
Indi’s story is very similar to Holly/Luna’s as she was also dumped in the same place, but a few years later. The big difference is that Indi was terrified of everybody and at only 6 months old would never have survived, especially as it was in winter. Sadly another discarded victim of the hunting which goes on in Cyprus.It took her rescuer weeks to gain her trust, but she was getting left food and water daily to make sure she didn’t starve. Eventually, Indi started to learn that not all human beings were going to hurt her and trust. She was ultimately fostered by her rescuer and as a result, she blossomed into such a wonderful girl, albeit a bit naughty at times.She has such a wonderful and playful personality it didn’t take long to find Indi a home either. In fact her adopter has subsequently become a Help For Dogs Volunteer! So Indi now lives in the U.K. in a fabulous loving home and as a result, is helping spread the word about all those dogs which are left behind and still struggling to survive.
Gertie now Myfi
Another dumped dog, but this time in the middle of town! She’d been left, presumably by her previous owner as she sat waiting in the same spot for 5 days and got excited every time she saw a car get close. It was clear she had had pups and she was only pup herself at 10 months old.She was rescued by a local and taken to have her bloods checked, thankfully she was all clear so she was taken to the vets the following day to be spayed, she stayed there for 4 days to recuperate. Then she went to a foster home where she thrived. It was clear she’d never been in a house before as she wouldn’t go indoors. Her foster parents had an outdoor run and she chose to take herself off there at bedtime and always slept outside. It’s probably what she’d been used to. However during the day she played and ran around with her foster parents dogs and Myfi got stronger and stronger, both physically and mentally. Her back begs had been very underdeveloped and her undercarriage was very droopy. After a few weeks of exercise all that changed and Myfi became a really healthy and happy dog.It didn’t take long to find a fantastic home for Myfi where she is very much loved and has gained so much confidence since becoming part of a family. Another huge success story.
Jet
Jet was hit by a car and left to suffer, but luckily a holiday maker saw Jet and immediately decided to help him. He was taken to the vet where it was discovered he had a broken hip. His hip was operated on successfully and apart from that, Jet was reasonably healthy, but still only approximately 1.5 years old.Jet’s rescuer contacted Help For Dogs to ask for help rehoming him and she continued to finance Jets vet care and boarding costs. So Help For Dogs set to work to find him a home. It turned out that finding Jet a home wasn’t as difficult as we had thought, cos an animal which has been injured can take longer to rehome although Jet’s prognosis was good. We were told he was such a happy little dog who just was desperate to be loved and loved everything and everybody, a good starting point for finding a home! Luckily, we found a fantastic home for Jet where this happy little guy will be very much loved and he can experience living within a family environment for the first time in his life.