52 • The Sunday Times Magazine
SCARLETT
My rescued dog is a female Great Dane and my
daughter named her Scarlett. Her first owner
returned her to the breeder, who pumped her
with oestrogen to become a puppy mill. Once her
time was done as a puppy mill, she was used as
a bait dog for dog fights. She has a lot of scars on
her head and front legs. Once she was done as
a bait dog, she was tied to a post and left to die.
I happened upon her at a dog adoption event.
She looked so sad and was very underweight,
but I felt a gentleness in her so we adopted her.
She was very good with people, but out on
walks she started attacking other dogs and had
serious anxiety attacks. The first time I was away
after getting her, she destroyed the house (see
picture left), paying particular attention to my
clothes. I was afraid she would end up killing
another dog and she was too big to manhandle,
so I hired a dog behaviourist to help me train her.
It took many, many hours but Scarlett is now one
of the best-behaved dogs in our neighbourhood.
My clothes are safe again.
Martin Igarashi, Portland, OregonRUBY
A month after my deaf American
bulldog died in 2019 I was trawling
Facebook when a post on the
Deaf Dog Network page caught
my attention. A dog was going to
be put to sleep because of her
deafness and was now in rescue
looking for a guardian angel.
I looked at the dog’s face with
her amazing eye patch and knew
I wanted to help. I filled out the
application form and a few days
later a home visit was arranged.
We passed the check with flying
colours and seven days later,
Shadow, now Ruby, was dropped
at our house in Milton Keynes by
Staffies in Need, a Nottingham-
based rescue centre (sadly no
longer operating). When she
arrived it was as if she’d known
us all her lives. She was and still is
absolutely fearless. Her deafness
is no hindrance to her at all. The
only people who aren’t thrilled areReaders to
the rescue
We sat up and begged you to share your experiences
of taking in unwanted dogs — and the response was
overwhelming. These are just some of your heartfelt tails
A dog’s life
our three cats, who keep out of
her way and aren’t too impressed
by her boisterous personality
(she’s a Staffordshire bull terrier/
Jack Russell cross).
Nadir Farrell, Milton KeynesBERNIE
My partner and I adopted Bernie,
a Staffie/hound cross, from SPDC,
a fantastic charity based in Cyprus.
I work full time, as does my
partner, and a lot of UK-based
charities automatically exclude
you from adoption on that basis,
even though I would never leave
my dog at home all day. I have the
flexibility to work from home,
and if I’m out my parents look
after him or I send him to doggy
daycare. The rules in the UK are
way too rigid — there are lots of
good homes dogs can go to.
Bernie was found wandering the
Cyprus streets with a choker collar
embedded in his neck. We paid a
fee for his passport, transportation
and a donation towards the
charity, which came to about
£250. He was transported via
plane to Germany and then in
a van to the UK. When he first
arrived he was possessive over
food, and he went for my parents’
golden retriever a few times over
a bone or a biscuit. It was a bit
stressful at first, but he got much
better. He’s obviously been
hungry on the street and a dog
never forgets that.
I grew up with golden retrievers,
so I was always obsessed with
pedigrees. But Bernie is so loving
and he has such a personality;
there’s an intelligence to him as
a former street dog. My parents’
dogs seem so scatty compared
with him. The truth is, there is
no feeling in the world that’s
better than knowing you’ve made
a difference to a dog.
Caroline Altug, London