INTERNATIONAL DOG DAY

Thank you to everyone who shared their rescue dog stories. Here are three more for us to enjoy. We have made donations to Nowzad, Saving Strays, MiaPlus7, Canis Canis and A New Lead On Life- North West Rescue as a thank you for all they do and each dog will be receiving a Vegan Happy Towel and treats thanks to Lorri.

ESSIE by Suzy Penn

Last Autumn when i was in Sarajevo , we were in a supermarket when we found a little Jack Russell who we called Storm. He had walked in, soaking wet, absolutely terrified and shaking with fear. We fed him and popped him in the car to take him back to the shelter. I turned round and that's when i saw her..

in the darkness all i could see was this little dog with big ears and a flash of white on her neck, standing in the pouring rain, in a gale with thunder and lightening . And for some reason that little dog completely broke my heart, I've seen a lot of stray dogs and a lot of sadness but something about her just got to me . She was soaking wet and looking for Storm and i just felt an instant connection with her even though I hadn't even seen her face!

i scooped her up, carried her back to the car and said to my colleagues

'Oh, I've found another one!!' Which unsurprisingly caused a lot of laughter because finding Stray dogs in Sarajevo was becoming my version of going shopping!!

i put her on my lap and she immediately settled down. Her face was like a little clown with pink spots on her nose. We took her back to the kennel's where she settled in with her friend Storm.

Later that evening i phoned my husband..

'Steve, something's happened'

'Oh no what?'

'I've found a dog'

there was a pause...

'And she's really attached to me' Can i bring her home? Can i keep her? Can she come and live with us?'

I then reassured him that she was only small, and quite old so wouldn't be any trouble!!

(we already had 2 dogs, and we both have mobility issues)

The next morning in the light of day, i saw her properly. She was in with Storm and quite lively.

Then i noticed her paws... they were HUGE

and her ears were HUGE

Her energy was HUGE

She was a pup!!

And was going to be well .. HUGE!!

At this point i made a very sensible decision and said nothing...

in the meantime i continued to play with her and by now i had named her Essie, after my Great Aunt Ethel who we always called Essie

A few weeks later Maria at Saving Strays sent me a picture of Storm and Essie sitting together and Essie had grown so much it looked as if Storm had shrunk!!

When Essie finally arrived in December, we went to collect her from quarantine ..

Steve looked at her , looked at me and then looked at Essie again

'She's really big and she's really young'

'Oh' i said i must have got it wrong!'

and that was probably the understatement of the year. Because 'the little old dog' was a very young very energetic pup!

But there was no going back and from that day onwards Essie became a huge part of our family. I've always had rescue dogs but Essie is just different..

her nature is wonderful, she loves everyone and has the most beautiful soul.

She also has a prey drive that could probably qualify as a full time occupation..

Grasshopper.. must catch it

Spider... must catch it

Anything small and furry Definitely must catch it..

And cats are definitely top of the list to chase...

She is permanently on high alert but at the same time is eager to please and incredibly friendly. She loves tummy tickles and within seconds everyone she meets falls in love with her ..

i may have thought i was rescuing her, but really i think she rescued us. Sometimes the dogs we find aren't the dogs we were looking for. Sometimes they are the dogs who were meant to find us..

And sometimes you have to be very careful when you describe a dog as 'little' and 'old' when you describe them to your husband!!!!

EWOK by Ann Hill

Ewok was taken in by Nowzad and was part of Operation Ark during Nowzads withdrawal of Afghanistan in 202. He has lived in Devon since the with David and Ann who both fundraise for Nowzad. Ewok enjoys a quiet life now and has retired from helping at events due to his age. He was approximately 13 last year. He shares his home with another little rescue dog called Tucker and spends his days just being loved.

Tucker and Ewok chilling...

QUEENIE by Jenny Waples

This is Queenie from Saving Strays, we were asked to foster her and of course agreed straight away. Who could resist that face.  I met her briefly when I visited the rescue centre in Bosnia in May, she was in quarantine at the time.   She is only just over a year old and whilst on the streets she somehow broke a front leg which has set really awkwardly.  We do hope that there is some way this can be fixed, although at the moment it doesn't restrict her movement and she charges around like a puppy.   She has also found her forever home here joining Jake my little rescue from Cyprus.