This is our branch trustee Jan’s account of meeting Tufty, the lurcher cross whose owner had sadly passed away.

“When Tufty was around eight years old her beloved owner died. His granddaughter had hoped to take her on, but with several young children she simply didn't have the resources to give Tufty the care she needed. Tufty's inner ears appeared to be very sore for some reason and she must have been in quite a bit of pain, although it didn't dampen her fun-loving nature. When I picked her up, she was nestled in on the sofa with the kids who obviously loved her.

However, trusting Tufty came with me quite happily as they gathered outside to wave her off.

I took her straight to her fosterers, a lovely couple who adored dogs but had decided that the commitment of adoption wasn't right for them at that time. Newly retired, they planned lots of holidays and visits to family members and felt it would be difficult to do that as full-time dog owners.

Tufty seemed happy to be there; she ran around, checked out the garden, tried the sofa and peed on the hall rug! The fosterers took it all in their stride and made her welcome. They had a pile of soft toys ready for her and she picked her favourite and was soon contentedly snuggled up with it, quite at home already by the time I left.

Her sore ears turned out to be quite a big deal, though

There was swelling, soreness and irritation that it transpired was down to allergies and got so bad that in the end we had to seek out a specialist vet who said that removal of her ears was the only option. Her hearing would have been so poor from her condition that the operation would result in a slight improvement, but the main thing was that she wouldn't be suffering constant, painful irritation. It wasn't cheap but we felt she was worth it.

Her wonderful fosterers took her back and forth to the vets, supported her through her operations and adored her new look. They said she reminded them of an otter, and they like otters!

She made a quick recovery, obviously relieved to be free of pain at last was able to thrive under the excellent care of her wonderful fosterers. 

And then... Her fosterers had a change of heart

They explained that they had been through so much with her and simply felt they couldn't bear to see her go away to another family. They would alter their plans, take holidays where she could go too and if any of their family didn't welcome her... well... She'd snuggled her way into their hearts and had become family herself. And so Tufty's temporary home became her forever home.

Two years on and Tufty is very much at home, rocking the cute otter look and is thoroughly spoiled in the best possible way. She actually loves visiting the vet, it's as if she knows how much better her life was because of them and is a firm favourite with her local vet's receptionist. That is fortunate since her allergies continue to bother her from time to time, although nothing like before and so she is a regular visitor.

It's a truly lovely outcome and why we do what we do, and why I love what I do.”

Have you adopted a pet from us? We'd love to hear your updates and see how they're getting on. Send us an email with some new photos, or tag us on social media so we can see how you all are!