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… I did puppy walking and dog socialisation and training originally and I have also fostered dogs for various rescues over the years. Some of those dogs have never left, I am what you call a failed fosterer. We spotted a photo of Peppa (was Cora) and soon she was ours. We were kept up to date with photos and videos until she arrived. After four months they started playing together and are now best friends. After talking to several local and international rescue organisations, I decided that 1 Dog at a Time Rescue had an excellent and well organised system in place, and so I soon had a home visit. The dog that had originally caught my eye had been rehomed, but I soon settled on Kammi and Jaimie as they got on well together.

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. Nana is our first ever Romanian rescue, but almost certainly not the last. We chose to adopt and later also fostered another dog with 1 Dog and would thoroughly recommend them and can guarantee the support given all the way through was exceptional. I felt reassured with the organised, friendly and professional approach. I spoke at length with people with all my concerns and questions, and they were happy to help.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. This is a fantastic organisation that makes a huge difference to the plight of street dogs in Romania. They are very thorough in matching the right adopters to the right dog. Their support and aftercare is second to none. I would not hesitate in recommending them to any sincere prospective adopter. Fostering provides many advantages and helps to give our dogs the best possible start to their new life. In a foster home situation, the dog’s true personality will have a much better chance of shining through, which is sometimes harder to see in a shelter environment. This foster home gives potential adopters a much more accurate insight into the dog’s temperament and character (the good and the quirks!). Foster also allows the dog to socialise in a family situation with other people, dogs and other types of pets, so that any quirks that need work become apparent.

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. 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 saw how devoted and loving the Romanian volunteers were, how they worked together with the English volunteers and how they had achieved so much. I watched the video of Eli singing to the dogs and read about Nana and her pups, her fight for survival and how two of her pups had found new homes in the UK. I told my husband, and he was equally smitten about the story of Happy’s and how the dogs lived at this amazing place, where they were shown love and then found suitable homes.

Sharon Hailes with Ted, Jerry and Leo

The moment I looked at the pictures, I stopped on our Mikka and fell in love. She was being looked after by who I feel is now our friend Sorrin, a fosterer for 1 Dog. Sorrin sent me updates, videos, and despite the language barrier we communicated, (it was a caring thing). After a lot of consideration and planning with the 1 Dog Team we were then able to adopt Negrutu. Negrutu was a long stayer at Happy’s and missed Annabel, Amber and Jessie as he used to play out with them before they left. We built kennels for him as he was a very nervous dog and didn’t think that he would ever adapt to living leaving in a house. After just a week everything changed and Negrutu moved into the house. We have a healthy, very happy little dog who’s previous life was a nightmare, 1 Dog changed his life and ours so much for the better. We also have a monthly auction on our Facebook Group where you can bid on a wide variety of items. All proceeds raise money for us.

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 4 His recall took a long time – don’t be lulled, get an extendable lead and take your time – lesson 2. 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! The dogs are imported as soon as possible to ensure the new owners and dogs are united. Once the dogs arrive, they go straight to their forever home, where owners are guided by the charity into helping their new pet to settle into their new home.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. Tests for Leishmania, Anaplasmosis, Dirofilarasis, Borrelia (Lyme Disease), Ehrlichiosis and Brucella canis.