Lovely stories everyone, tinged with a little sadness

Just over 5 years ago now I went to Cyprus to work in a dog rescue for 2 months.
2 weeks in and Stone arrived at the shelter at 18 months old.
His owners (moved over from England about 8 months previously) were killed in a horrible car accident - 3 days later, the relatives brought 3 of their 5 dogs in. There was Stone, a HUGE beautiful weimaraner and a HUGE greyhound, and two huskies that were rehomed to a family member. Weimie and greyhound were homed together to one of the other volunteers. I spent a lot of time with Stone as he was so confused - we hung out for hours every day. He came in in beautiful condition but lost so much weight and muscle in the shelter. It was a puny thing with a big head that crawled on his belly out of the airport
I was meaning to get another GSD when I got home....never imagined I'd ever had a white one!
He was very timid but is a completely different dog now.
I am still in contact with his previous owners parents who live in Cyprus - they've sent me photos of him as a pup!
They got him at 4 months - he was seized from a house in Bexhill on Sea by the police with a litter sister in a terrible state and totally terrified - taken to a vet there and Stone went home with one of the nurses there and the policeman took the little girl.
He was born over here as the relatives gave me all his papers and pedigree etc - I have been able to contact the breeder (not a particularly reputable one) to tell them I have him and he is safe now. Not that they were particularly interested!

I felt a bit guilty bringing him home as it cost a fortune, and I could have rehomed about 8 dogs over here for that much, but I totally fell in love with him and just couldn't leave without him.
He has not been without his problems - he has terrible arthritis in his elbows - he is now a happy chilled out friendly boy.
We have been inseparable since the day I laid eyes on him

Hard to believe he will be 8 years old next year!
His old owners parents still send him birthday and xmas cards every year without fail, enclosing a fiver each time to buy him something. I call and email them with updates and photos - they are so lovely.

It was Sunday afternoon and I was in Nicosia and had no means to go there, had no foster home, nothing was in order. The whole Monday I tried to find someone in Larnaca who would go and pick her up and someone who would foster her at least for a while. The same day I received the call that children in the neighborhood noticed her and poking her with sticks. She was very terrified. So there was no time to keep searching and my husband took the day off work on Tuesday 28th of May to go and pick her up and take her to the vet. We arrived and start walking around and searching for the dog. In a while I saw her sticking out her head from the bushes she was hiding in. I think I froze for the second. As she started to come out and I saw her body I was at least shocked. She trusted me enough to take her on the lead. When we arrived to the vet clinic, just from the first look at her the vet started to hint on leishmania and that the dog in that state may not make it. But it was agreed to wait for the results of the blood tests. Those were the longest 15 min of my life. I was sitting there, in the chair and she was laying down next to me and all the time looking at me. She did not move her eyes even for a second. And I was praying to all forces in the universe for leishmania blood test come out negative. For that 15 min I used probably all the tissues in the vet clinic. The test for leishmania came out negative. And after it was a long process of putting on the weight and getting better... Now she is in the UK living with a wonderful family who loves her more than I could even wish.

As Nellies new mummy I cannot thank Marta and her hubby and all those involved with the rescue and rehabilitation enough. I knew from that very first horrific picture that Marta posted that this was the dog for us. Something immediately caught my heart and from that day on poor Marta had to endure my constant messaging requesting updates etc and requests that we could adopt her. I was prepared to do anything for her, my thoughts day and night were of nothing but Nellie until it was finally confirmed that we had been chosen to be her forever family!!
We still had to wait what seemed like ages for her to get well enough for her flight but she was worth waiting for. Then, a few days before her flight Marta contacted me to say that Nellie was unwell and wouldn't be able to fly. We ere devastated and I felt completely deflated. But I wasn't going to give up - I'd waited for her so long another couple of weeks would be easy or so I thought!!! They were the worst - waiting waiting waiting, everyday taking so long!!!
Then finally, she arrived and my hubby went to fetch her. When she came to my door my love was instant and the wait had paid off. She is the most caring, sweet little girl ever!!! She will never ever want for anything, and hopefully one day she will forget about the terrible things that life dealt her in the beginning! She's gently snoring in her bed now after a day at work with her big brother Reg and dad - bet her dreams are happy ones now!!!

'Tis YOU tokiayla who is so LOVELY! Of course I had to read this one you having got him from Cyprus where I live. Which shelter was it you worked for?

I know of one who has been rehomed to the UK now who was in such a bad state that it was almost impossible to tell what the breed was when it was taken in. I will find the photos and you will see there are angels on earth - people who could see a dog in that condition and decide that was the only dog for them.

The people I could cheerfully murder with my bare hands are not those ignorant t of how to treat animals it is the Brits who are leaving the island in increasing numbers because of the economy and leaving their pets behind. A supposed nation of animal lovers. One charity named and shamed them but were stopped from doing so.

My boarding kennels have had another five left with them this month. Is a 'Brit' ploy - book them into kennels and just don't ever collect. Don't even pay - and of course no one thinks it's odd when Brits book dogs in - is mainly Brits who use boarding. Hardly any Cypriots board dogs. They get family to feed them if they go away.

Saddest of all is that a lot of these dogs were rescued out taken off the streets by them to begin with.