We had never fostered before but felt we were experienced with dogs, having grown up with them, and we had a chocolate lab who had taken about 4 years to calm down so, we felt he was a good induction.

I have had dogs as long as I can remember. I grew up with dogs and then later when my work/ life balance meant I was able to spend more time at home, it was not long before a dog (or two) joined my family. His recall took a long time – don’t be lulled, get an extendable lead and take your time – lesson 2. 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 4But 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.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. Looking through the many photos, we came across a sibling group of four puppies, three brothers and a sister. Maddie was just a ball of fluff, whereas the three boys were all short haired. Murray, the biggest of the group, had really sad eyes and a face just begging to be loved. So decision made, we’d enquire if either was available. Murray was, but Maddie had been reserved already.

If I ever needed support, it was there. If I needed advice, it was there. I absolutely understand she was not in the awful kennel (thank God) but however you find your love in the form of a dog, does it matter? No! In my experience, someone is always just a text or a phone call away, or you can ask the group chats: there is lots of help and advice. It’s great that other adopters and fosters love to hear about and see updates, and likewise, it’s great to see the dogs become relaxed and confident. 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. 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…

Rosemary & Gerry Jacob with Tilly & Peppa

After losing my dog at 15 years old, I vowed never to get another, but the sense of loss was overwhelming, and I knew I had to fill the emptiness. 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. It’s not easy getting a dog from 1 Dog At A Time Rescue. There were interviews; telephone conversations; videos, and we were not finally approved until we could prove that we had increased the height of our garden fence, as requested. That thoroughness and determination to ensure we were the right match for these special dogs is typical of this meticulously professional organisation. From that moment, we felt supported by a network of people for whom the best outcome for the dogs is of paramount importance. When my Westie died suddenly in 2019, I found a great big hole in my life but thought I’d never replace him. Moving on a few months, I gradually realised that it was time to have another dog and started looking at rescue dogs. It is sad to see how many dogs need a home, so I decided I would get two small dogs.