Leanne
Well I was crying reading Bailey's story but at the same time so happy he found a wonderful home with you.He was absolutely gorgeous

Run free sweet boy xx

Beautiful dog and I'm glad you've got that lovely photo of her to keep. I've got photos I took of my last dog taken just before she died (although of course I had no idea she would at the time) and I treasure those.

Wish I had more photos of other dogs I've owned but back in those days not everyone had a camera, let alone camera phones and all sorts. And as I recall film and developing costs were high so you were frugal with those you took.

I thought I would add another post to keep you going

Bandit

One night I was travelling home from my friends house. It was early October 2011 and the coldest night of the year so far. I like to drive on country roads and had picked a short cut to get home. I happened to pass a vehicle at the side of the road unloading a box. Sadly there'd been a run of fly tipping in the area so I made a mental note to call and report it when I got home. To this day I do not know what made me turn back, something just niggled in my brain, the box was small enough to fit in a bin, why fly tip it? They had nothing else in the back of the pick up.

So I turned back by which point the vehicle was gone. I got out of my car and opened up the box to find a shut down, terrified, freezing puppy covered in poo where he'd gone in his box. He was so small he fitted in one hand. I didn't want the box in my car, it was filthy but I couldn't put the pup in the back because my other dogs were in there and they were very intrigued by the squeaking thing in my hands. Luckily for me I had a bag that should have been used in a dog pram that I picked up second hand as a dog stuff bag for the car. It had a mesh top so I tipped that out, lined it with my jumper and plonked the pup in there.

I took him to the vets to get him checked and they said apart from being filthy he was fine. They reckoned he was about 7 weeks old.

I took him home rather than leave him in a cage at the vets, although they would have taken him willingly. He cried all the way home, to the point that I ended up driving with my hand in the bag!

Once home I set up a crate and settled him down. I was shattered and the big dogs were bored of him after a quick sniff.

I contacted the dog warden the next day but they weren't particularly interested, I kept him for his 28 days and he's been with me ever since. He's my little man and I adore him. He loves to learn, he's great with everything, spend 99% of his time offlead and it's entirely trust worthy. Most people tell me he is old before his time as he is so calm, I prefer to think that Bob and Binky taught him well before they passed away.
He's probably the most well socialised dog I've ever had because he was carted everywhere with me from the day I found him. He went to work where he met all sorts of animals and people, I really think that made a difference.

First night (after a bath) -





A little bit older -



He earnt his name because he likes to make off with stuff you drop -



Chilling at home -



Bonding with his Giraffe (R.I.P) -



And you don't have to look far in to the photo threads to find up to date ones of him.

Amazing stories everyone!
Cannot believe how people can abuse and mistreat dogs

Jen - that's amazing how subconsciously you obviously took in enough information about that scenario to then have the urge to go back.
He is such an adorable chap!
How can people dump dogs at the side of roads?
I really don't get it.
He is so lucky you did go back and find him!

Well, you asked for it. Here is Pearl's story. Sorry, no photo. Can't seem to be able to get the photo to show up in the post.
I got a call from a friend who told me she had Chihuahua that needed me that was in pretty bad shape. She had gotten her from her friend who had stolen her out of the owners yard and since I was about 25 miles away and live in the middle of a national forest there was no chance of her being found. Usually I wouldn't get involved in anything like that but my friend seemed so concerned about this dog that I had to go see for myself. One look and I agreed to take her as the owner should have been shot on sight. What I got was not quite 2 pounds of half hairless skin and bone. She had no fleas but was covered in infected cigarette burns. I took her home. Wherever I set her down she would shake, shiver and loose bladder and bowel control and then be afraid to move. Don't know why but I immediately named her Pearl. I bathed her and wormed her and started working with her. Mixed up a batch of antibiotic ointment, vitamin E oil and aloe and applied it twice a day after washing the old stuff off. I carried her everywhere I went. She couldn't eat much without throwing up so I fed her chicken with rice and a little broth several times a day for months. Gradually she graduated to fresh chicken noodle soup with carrots and peas and then on to other things. She was afraid of people, especially men so everywhere I went I let everyone who saw her pet her and talk to her. It took nearly 2 years but I ended up with a beautiful 3 and a half pound tri-colored Chihuahua with a gorgeous coat and no scarring. She's good with women and children but very cautious of men. A few years later I found I needed a service dog to alert to low blood sugar and coming panic attacks and I decided to see how Pearl took to training. It took her no time at all to get the idea as to what I wanted her to do and she took off on her own from there learning anything and everything really fast. She seldom leaves my side and, as she has always done, she sleeps on top of me. So...I rescued her and now she rescues me.

Manydogz - omg what a sad state it sounds like she was in when you got her but she sounds just amazing now! The fact she is now also your service dog is just precious!

Need to see if you can get a pic up of her

Bandit and Pearl so lucky to have found such loving owners Love reading these stories,no matter what dogs have been through,or how badly they have been treated,they have so much to give.Really are amazing

Tara was my rescue girl, some older members may remember her story. She came into my life in December 2008 when she was around 12 - 13 years old. I already had Max and wasn't looking for another dog at the time.

I work as a veterinary nurse, and Tara was brought into the practice where I worked at the time by her owner, with a heavily bleeding wound on her leg. Her owner requested that she was put to sleep as she couldn't cope with her anymore. Our vet refused and she was signed over to the practice where she underwent surgery and received treatment for her leg. This all happened between Christmas and new year, and our local rehoming centre couldn't take her until early January. As the practice was closed over the bank holiday, I decided to take her home until then - needless to say she never went back!

From the moment I took her home she completely stole my heart. She stuck to me like glue. She wouldn't leave my side, whenever I sat down she had to be touching me and if I ever left the room she would sit by the door for as long as it took for me to come back in.

It was clear early on that she had been abused. She was terrified of raised voices, sudden movements, and the day my dad hit a fly on the window with a rolled up magazine, she screamed and ran and hid under the dining table, shaking and growling at anyone who came near for the next hour it broke my heart. She had no idea what toys were or how to play. In time she came to trust again and really came out of her shell, and she fitted in with Max perfectly after a few teething problems.

In 2010/2011 she had a nasty accident with Max when he ran into the side of her head whilst chasing a ball in the garden. From that moment she suffered regular vestibular attacks which slowly got worse each time, until July 2011 when she had a really bad one. It took her a good 5 weeks to make even a reasonable recovery and I really thought we were going to lose her at that point. Thankfully she recovered well with the exception of a head tilt and balance issues and only suffered a couple more small attacks after that.

We finally said our goodbyes in April 2013 after a long battle with her not eating, vomiting and episodes of weakness. On her final night with me, my girl suddenly collapsed and was rushed into the vets where my wonderful vet, friend and colleague got to work on her immediately. My worst fears were confirmed, she had a mass in her abdomen which had ruptured and was bleeding heavily into her abdominal cavity. I made the decision there and then to let her go, rather than subjecting her to major abdominal surgery which she probably wouldn't have made it through. My beautiful girl fell asleep on 26th April 2013 with her head in my arms. I still miss her so much and typing this now I have tears running down my face.

I still have Max, Rayne and Luna who I love with all my heart, but Tara had something really special that I'm yet to find in any other animal.

So to finish off her story, here are a few photos of my Tara, my forever dog

On her first night home with me, looking so worried


Her first walk as 'my dog'


First snow day


Enjoying various walks










On her last holiday in 2012, she loved the beach




And finally my absolute favourite photo of her, the face just sums her up perfectly

Unfortunatly I have no luck posting photo's. All that shows up is a link to tinypic's. So, although i'd love for you to see my beautiful Pearl.......I must be missing a step somewhere although I followed the directions on this site exactly. But she is a tri-colored Chihuahua and weighs 3 and a half pounds.

Tara...loved reading her story.Beautiful girl