For those who don’t know me, Charlie’s Angels may sound like a strange name for a dog walking company? Well, maybe a little bit of background information will help it make some sense…
I grew up around dogs, of all shapes and all sizes. We had puppies growing up until I was a little older and we got our first rescue dog, Robbie. After university, I moved out and missed my dog terribly. When he passed and my parents got a new dog, I missed the company of a dog even more. I moved in with my boyfriend (now husband!) who I pestered almost daily to get me a dog. Eventually he gave in, and we adopted a beautiful black greyhound called Meg. She had quite a few behavioural issues when we got her but with a bit of time and patience, she has turned into the most amazing dog we could ever have hoped for. In fact, she made such an impact on our lives, we decided we wanted to help other dogs like her, with no social skills and nowhere to go, and started fostering for a greyhound rescue. I have seen a lot over my years of fostering: from the neglect and the abuse, down to just a bit of misfortune and change of circumstances.
I didn’t think I’d make a good fosterer, In fact, I thought I’d fall at the first hurdle and keep Lucy who was foster dog #1. I think I surprised myself and my whole family. I have now had over 30 greyhounds/lurchers pass through my home. I love every second of fostering and didn’t want to fail…BUT, the inevitable happened. One day, our new foster dog was dropped off. This tall, dark and handsome greyhound boy jumped out of a volunteer’s car and that was it, I was in love. We went through ten months of attempting to find him a home who could put up with his fears, anxieties and OCD habits, and we did eventually find one. A great one, in fact. But, I was too far gone by then and I couldn’t let that boy walk out my life. We adopted him the following Sunday and he’s part of our family. He adores Meggy and would do anything to protect her, me or my family’s spaniels. His name is Charlie.
I couldn’t foster without the support of my gorgeous, laid-back dogs. People wonder why I gave up a full-time, stable, permanent job to spend all my time with dogs. For me, it was a no brainer.
