One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Helmand

Product Information

But honestly, we wouldn’t have had even a tenth of the support and guidance buying a new puppy in the UK, that we have had with these wonderful, caring supportive people. Since that day, I have dedicated my life to the care and well being of the abused, forgotten and neglected street dogs out in Romania and spend my day securing the futures of the dogs we rescue.

Nothing really prepared us for Raffles. From day 1 he was so loving, would really lean in like he wanted you to wrap him up and snuggle forever. It’s a good job, as after his initial settling in, he certainly found his feet, and I will not lie, he was a little bit of a challenge. Aimee loves her home, but the outside world can still be a scary place. We have had great advice from the behaviourists at 1 Dog, and Aimee has done so well in our work together to overcome many aspects of her nervousness. Sharon kindly put me in touch with the owner of Aimee’s Mum, and we have compared notes to find that they are very much like mother like daughter. The number of time I thought he had got there, let him off his lead and then his ability to cover the miles made Ussain Bolt look like the slowest snail! Dont be fooled – Lesson 3 After a lot of consideration and planning with the 1 Dog Team we were then able to adopt Negrutu. Negrutu was a long stayer at Happy’s and missed Annabel, Amber and Jessie as he used to play out with them before they left. We built kennels for him as he was a very nervous dog and didn’t think that he would ever adapt to living leaving in a house. After just a week everything changed and Negrutu moved into the house.I did not imagine for one minute that all this was going to evolve when I started looking for an older dog (I love the oldies) In 2012 I had just joined Facebook and was mooching around when I saw an old boy who looked a little like my soul dog Dillie. He was from Romania and I had just missed out on adopting him. I had no idea about all the cruelty over there and the plight of the street dogs. I have seen many street dogs on my journeys around the world but none so obviously loathed and treated as vermin. I started to read and became completely determined to help one of these poor souls. We are delighted to report that 19 precious souls made it safely to the UK last week and are now in their forever homes.

They couldn’t be more different – Jaimie is more nervous but so smart and knows how to get a treat when an action is requested. Kammi is obviously in charge of the 3 of us and likes to set the pace and direction! She is also quite reactive to other dogs, and so we don’t let dogs approach us, which can be difficult with some off lead dogs and not so helpful dog owners! But she is getting better all the time. I saw how devoted and loving the Romanian volunteers were, how they worked together with the English volunteers and how they had achieved so much. I watched the video of Eli singing to the dogs and read about Nana and her pups, her fight for survival and how two of her pups had found new homes in the UK. I told my husband, and he was equally smitten about the story of Happy’s and how the dogs lived at this amazing place, where they were shown love and then found suitable homes. Having lost both our beloved dogs a little over two years ago, just five weeks between their passing, we came across 1 Dog At A Time Rescue UK on Facebook. Instantly the decision was made that now was the time to bring another dog into the family, and seeing all the dogs needing a new life; it was pretty much a no-brainer that we didn’t need to look anywhere else.

My journey with 1 Dog began when l saw a photo of a dog on Facebook, huddled at the bottom of a dirty cage with the saddest eyes l had ever seen. Sadly l knew l didn’t have the space for such a big dog, we already had 2 small dogs but curiosity made me look at the other dogs available & the second l saw her photo l knew the painfully skinny, dirty, petrified little girl living in squalor & filth in the Public Shelter, trying to make herself invisible, was always meant to be mine. I would have walked all the way to Romania to get her if l had to. Molly blessed our life’s and filled our hearts with so much joy, l wanted to pay if forward on her behalf and joined the amazing 1 Dog Team to help other dogs just like her. I have absolutely loved every second, I work alongside the most amazing people. It is probably the most rewarding thing l have ever done. He still barked, but it was less aggressive and more inquisitive. But he’s a big dog, and we had to appreciate some people passing will misunderstand him, so we protect him from them rather than the other way around. People will misunderstand their behaviour – their problem, not yours Lesson 4 His recall took a long time – don’t be lulled, get an extendable lead and take your time – lesson 2.

Rescue has always been my first love; right from the moment I could walk, I was rescuing. My first recollection was saving butterflies and fish from my brother’s nets, and like so many before me, I insisted my parents stop the car to rescue hedgehogs from the side of the road. As a child, I was always bringing home wounded animals and strays. I’ve grown up with dogs and have shared my happiest and saddest moments with a dog by my side. Neuter/spay provided the dog is old enough or well enough. This will be discussed with you if we are not able to get the operation done in Romania.

John and Sally Fothergill with Yana and Monte

I carried on following 1 Dog via Facebook and was so moved by the plight of the dogs and the wonderful things the charity was doing to help, I was very tempted by some of the dogs available for rehoming, but it wouldn’t have been fair on our old boy, who was enjoying a peaceful retirement. However, when we sadly lost him at the ripe old age of 14 1/2 , after some time to adjust, we decided it was time to welcome another dog into our lives. Dilly is honestly the most brilliant, funny, affectionate little wonder, and we absolutely adore him, so much so that we are now set to adopt a baby sister for him from 1 Dog in a few weeks time. Hi – I’m Charlotte, I first stumbled across 1 Dog at a Time Rescue UK in 2016. My sister had lost her dog suddenly and unexpectedly and we decided we wanted to make a donation to a dog rescue charity in Henry’s memory. I started searching on the internet and came across 1 Dog,– so we made a donation and that was the end of it – or so I thought! My first Romanian rescue was my big boy Fozzy. A plea appeared one night on Facebook to help; he had been poisoned and beaten. Try as I might I could not get him out of my mind, his eyes haunted me. So I pressed the comment button and said… “please get him off the streets and to a vet, I will pay and help him…” little did I know this was the start of a lifetime commitment to helping the street dogs. The lady who had posted Fozzy’s appeal and I worked out how to get Fozzy to me in the UK, I then wanted to help more dogs there to find loving homes. I started helping the dogs that had been captured by dogcatchers and taken to the local public shelter to find homes, one at a time and 1 Dog at a Time Rescue UK started just like that… Helping one dog…