Val tells the stories of most, if not all, the dogs they have rescued and cared for, starting with Lady, the first one rescued while they were living in Portugal. Val and Mino moved to Puglia from Portugal, travelling separately in two vehicles and bringing their rescue dogs and cats with them.
As Val says
“Puglia in Southern Italy is a beautiful place, with wonderful food, wonderful weather and the people are generally warm and friendly. Unfortunately many do not respect domestic animals ……
Once in the South of Italy, we began to see the problem was far worse than Portugal, the amount of sick and abandoned animals was appalling.
Most of these animals are such beautiful friendly creatures, it breaks our hearts. We want to bring them all into our home. Of course, this is not possible. As it is, we have far too many. Most of the ones we have taken in are sick or with broken or damaged limbs. Just discarded because of this! We then get these poor animals treated. Our vets here are superb!
The bad luck we have encountered here has been phenomenal and it still seems to go on.”
My beautiful Lady was our first rescue dog. We found her in 2001 in a communal rubbish bin, when we lived in the Algarve. A friend of ours tried to take her, but she was unapproachable, she growled and snarled at him. When I got close to her, she rolled on her back and let…
Sparky was our second rescue dog. We found him in 2002, he was about six months old. He was in a small crate next door to where we lived, in Portugal. He was left without food or water for several days, apart from what we gave him. When we got home from the restaurant, Mino…
Pooch was rescue dog No.3. In Portugal early one evening, I was looking out of the window of our restaurant and saw a dirty little creature walking up the road towards me. He was a ball of matted brown fur, that in places touched the ground. Poor little boy, he was starving and full of…
In April 2003, Mino and I witnessed the headmaster of the primary school opposite our restaurant in the Algarve kicking Ginger, trying to get him out of the playground. All he was trying to do was be friendly. What an example to set to children.😡 We went in and got him out, he was such…
Bear was a big old soft gentle giant. In 2003 Mino found him, abandoned most definitely. What a lovely boy he was. He certainly was not a young dog. I expect someone got tired of him and wanted a newer model. That and the fact he wasn’t well, these people won’t spend any money on…
Bessie was a small, very frightened rough-haired jack russel …her owner had died and his son was supposedly taking care of the dogs. (There were three of them.) He left the dogs in the old man’s house, which was practically falling down. They were lucky if he fed them once a week, let alone once…
Scruffy was a real challenge for me, he was unapproachable. I loved him at first sight and was determined to get close. Again, perseverance paid off, he used to come for food, but wait until we had gone before he ate it. Slowly he became less afraid until he was so friendly, we had to…
Bobby was rescue number 8, he was one of the three dogs that came as a package! the other two were Bessie and Scruffy They all lived together with an old man who subsequently died. The son of the old man didn’t want the dogs but was supposed to be feeding them. The house was…
Puppy Bill was dog number 9. He couldn’t really be called rescued as he never knew any hardship. He was one of Bessie’s puppies. Bessie gave birth to six pups by the side of our bed on Mino’s birthday. She had three black and three white and brown on 22nd June 2004. I didn’t want…
Here we were in Italy, there were stray dogs everywhere you looked. Paco was the first Italian one we took in after arriving in Italy. Rescue number 10, what a dog, he had been wandering the streets of Squinzano for some considerable time. Beautiful boy, he fitted in with all the others like he’d known…
There was a restaurant opposite where we lived, and one of the women that worked there asked us if we would look after her little dog Titti for a short while, as she was currently living with her in-laws. The mother in law didn’t like animals, she was very cruel to Titi. She even left…
One Sunday in November 2005, I was walking through the market one morning, and spotted this huge puppy, with this extremely long tail, that almost touched the ground. He was so bewildered and lost. No more than 6 months old. He was an adorable dog. He followed me home and became one of the pack.…
Charlie was rescue number 13. He was no more than 18 months old when he found us! He had been abandoned with a broken back leg. At that time we lived opposite the beach, and used to walk all our dogs there early morning. Charlie would appear from nowhere, and play and run with the…
Flossy arrived in March 2007. I was out on my bike one morning and I witnessed Flossy being attacked by a pack of stray dogs. I immediately came to her defence, by shouting and shooing off the perpetrators. Of course, what happened then, she followed me home. What was I to do, she wasn’t going…
Back in early April 2007, we met Piccina, she used to follow one of the local men, she was always very friendly when she saw us, mostly with Mino, but was always very hungry. She was skin and bones, this chap she followed could barely afford to feed himself, let alone all the dogs that…
In April 2007 Mino found Squirt shut in a cardboard box in the porch of an empty house, near to where we lived. Poor little boy was no more than 4 months old, had no fur, and stank to high heaven. A trip to the vets confirmed he had severe mange. He is a miniature…
Tuppence was rescued in April 2007, just after Squirt. Tuppence was one of the sweetest dogs you could ever wish to meet. We were told of this little dog that had a broken leg and was being chased by bigger dogs. Mino found her, she was not going to be captured easily. Eventually, he and…
Bicki was dumped outside our gate in summer 2006, he was no more than 3 months old. We were becoming known, “those stupid English people, they have loads of dogs, we don’t want him, let’s leave him there!” We had to take him in, poor little boy. He was a Pastore Maremanno, an Italian sheepdog.…
Some people who lived not far from us owned Paddy. Then just before Christmas 2007, they moved away to Germany, leaving the dog in the garden. A nephew was supposed to be feeding him daily. Haha, once a week if he was lucky! Hard to imagine, isn’t it? What sort of person would do that?…
In 2007, Teddy arrived, another dog outside of our gate yet again. Someone had left him there. I think we must have a sign somewhere in doggy language, saying “all welcome”. Poor little boy, he had hardly any fur on him, he was pink and stank to high heaven. He had a terrible skin disease.…
Roxy and Millie were sisters. We saw these two pups as they were walking along the road, quite a few miles from where we lived. Don’t know how they did it, but they found their way to our place. We, of course, took them in, oh gosh they were so destructive. We managed to find…
Freddie was a beautiful dog, he was a white GSD. He was hanging around the village, scavenging for food. Desperately thin. How anyone could have abandoned him, I’ve no idea. We just had to help him, he was so affectionate. We took him home with us. He and Puppy Bill became firm friends, we guessed…
Peggy was our miracle girl. In May 2008, Mino was approached by a local bar owner, he didn’t own Peggy, but he fed her, she was a stray. He said she was ill, well that was an understatement. She was gravely ill. Peggy had a bad case of Leishmania, she was so thin, he asked…
Nerina was a little miniature pinscher that back in 2008, Mino found in a very bad way. She was so tiny and very old but in a lot of distress. He took her straight to the vets, they had to give her an emergency hysterectomy and found two dead puppies inside her. Someone had dumped…
Patch was a poor little boy who was another follower of the local man, that Piccina followed. 😩 In 2008 we took Patch, as apart from being incredibly thin, he had a badly swollen and messy mouth. The vet seemed to think it was pine processionaria, horrible caterpillars, that do a lot of damage. After…
One day in July 2008, Poppy was found sitting in the middle of the road, just staring towards our front gate. As quite a few of you were aware, it was a horrible road. So we took her in. Our grandchildren Emily and Harry were staying with us at the time,so they named her. She…
One afternoon we dropped in at our local petrol station and saw this tiny little dog, she looked completely lost and bewildered. The owners of the petrol station told us she had been abandoned and they had been feeding her. They did not want to keep her as they already had two dogs. We had…
In January 2008 Mino found Dottie at the side of a busy main road, she was petrified. She was so young, only around three to four months old, she only weighed 2.4 kilos. It became obvious that she had a broken leg. So I’m guessing that’s why she was dumped. We had her leg mended,…
One day in late 2007, our friend Bob, saw Doby pinned against a wall by the two resident bully boys, Rusty and Charlie, who had been out for their swim! He shouted at them, and they left him, then a little time after during a really bad thunderstorm, Mino found Doby huddled against our wall,…
In 2008 Nana was brought to us by a relative of Mino’s. He was a huge young dog, and had been stoned and kicked in a neighbouring village! People were afraid of him, due to his size. He was so scared, as big as he was. Ignorant people, he was a gentle giant. We were…
In March 2009 we moved house, away from that horrid road, and away from people. It was a much bigger place with a huge garden. Rags was dumped from a car. Someone we knew, actually saw it happen. When asked why he didn’t take the number of the car, he just shrugged his shoulders. You…
Tinker was a sweet lovable puppy. For me it was love at first sight, he was delightful. I found him by the rubbish bins scavenging, I was driving home from a friends. I have never in my life before seen so many ticks on one dog. The insides of his ears were smothered in them,…
In 2010, we found Janey, starving,not far from where we live. She had clearly just had pups. We waited whilst she ate and then followed her in search of the pups. We found three little ones, in an old abandoned villa. We made a bed for Janey and her three pups and left. We came…
Gyp again was brought to us, by the same relative of Mino’s with the same promise! Just to look after till he was found a home, ha, that was 11 years ago. He came from the same village that Nana came from. You’d think we would learn a lesson, wouldn’t you. We have had him…
In August 2010 Mino found Lupo by the roadside, he was thin, dirty, and full of fleas and ticks, he didn’t look as if he had eaten in a long time. So he brought him home. He was around 18 months old. Lupo had been fending for himself for some time, judging by the state…
In April 2010, our friend Bob called for us to please come and look at a dog! Oh my, when we saw him, well words fail me, he was literally a skeleton covered with patchy fur, the poor boy. We of course brought him home. We called him Bob. He was a Bretton, a hunting…
Ah, beautiful Ellen 💕 In May 2010 when we had our friends Mandy and Ali staying with us, we came upon a pair of Dalmatians. They were living by a communal rubbish bin, sleeping on an old mattress. One had recently had pups. We found Ellen and her sister/mother not far from where we live.…
Pino was one of our biggest challenges! June 9th 2010. I received an email via my web site, from an English lady who has a holiday home here in Puglia. She and her husband had been on their way to the airport via the motorway, to catch a plane back to the UK, when they…
One morning in September 2011 our friend Liz, who has a holiday home not far from us, went to get into her car and found this dear little pup hiding underneath it. What could she do? She brought her to us! Those 👀 eyes, they were piercing blue, what a gorgeous little girl she was.…
Back in September 2011, we were asked to take a look at a pup by an elderly couple. When we saw her, it looked like she couldn’t possibly survive. She was very tiny and looked like she had been mauled by a bigger dog. She was quite lame when she started to walk. We had…
Back in 2010, I had an email from another lady, Julia, with a holiday home here in Puglia. It was a desperate plea, she had found a starving pup, which she first tried ignoring, but soon realised that she was not going anywhere so she took her in and began feeding her. Of course, what…
Selina and Trixie are sisters. We call them the twins, although Trix is somewhat bigger than Selina. In the early summer of 2012, Mino was approached by a man that owns an olive grove not far from where we live. Someone had dumped these little pups in an old derelict building within his olive grove,…
In March 2014, Skinny was literally thrown out of a car at the end of our lane, he had been quite badly abused and had quite a few wounds on his little skinny body! An old chap that lived close by saw this happen, he said it was a woman, but didn’t get her number…
Shortly after Skinny, Nipper arrived! This little guy was abandoned near us, he had spent the nights alone and scared, the days wandering around, scavenging around the bins. He was small, a lot like Squirt, from a distance, when we saw him, we thought Squirt had got out! He was a very sweet little boy…
Lala and her pups 🐶Torre, Venice, Lia, Talia Chiana, and Phoebe. Anyone who loves animals knows how painful it is to say that final farewell to a beloved pet. It’s so so difficult. We view them as family members and treat them as such. My gorgeous Lala was no exception. In January 2014 we rescued…
Just when we thought it was all over! Yes, you guessed it, after a few days we saved another abandoned mother and her six puppies! To say we were angry was an understatement, these people that abandon animals here do not deserve to live happy lives, they deserve to have every bad thing that can…
This dear little chap was abandoned, in October 2014. Thrown out like some worthless piece of trash. The reason? We think the reason was that he had Cherry Eye. The medical term for ‘cherry eye’ is nictitans gland prolapse or prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid. Unlike people, dogs have a ‘third eyelid’…
In April 2015, a beautiful young yellow labrador arrived here, she was to become a very firm favourite with Mino, he adored her. We called her Lilly, had her spayed and she settled in like she had lived here all her life. She became best friends with Skinny. As most of them do 🙂 I…
In April 2015, Mino took our car to the mechanics and was approached by one of the chaps that worked there. Knowing our involvement with dogs, he asked if we would take his miniature pinscher, as it was kept in an apartment all day and never went out. The family didn’t want him. Poor little…
Carina lived two roads from us. Such a dear little thing. Her owner was a really nasty old man, who kept her on a chain, it was so heavy, it weighed her head down. He kept her on that chain 24 hours a day. She had a tiny little kennel to sleep in. We used…
Reuben belonged to our neighbours. Back in January 2018, the neighbours came to Mino saying they thought there was something wrong with him because he was unable to move hardly at all. Mino took him to the vet and after an x-ray, it was discovered he had a broken pelvis. It was thought he had…
Mino was approached by the young man that washes and grooms our dogs, his father had recently passed away and left two dogs, one German Shepherd and one Miniature Pinscher. He had successfully rehomed the German Shepherd but was still looking for a home for the min pin. He couldn’t take him himself as he…
On a day in November 2018 a man was tending his olive trees just close to where we live and came across this dog with seven pups. What did he do? He came to us. We both went and saw them, she was so friendly, so were her puppies. Someone had abandoned her and her…
In September 2019 we had another desperate plea from some people on holiday. Kika had become very friendly with this couple, who were feeding her. She was completely alone and so tiny, I doubt she would have lasted the winter, which is very cold here. They dreaded leaving her when their holiday was up. The…
In January 2020, Mino found Waggi on the side of the road, he brought him home. The next day he took him to the vets to be checked over and it appeared he had been the victim of a shotgun. Only minor injuries though. He also limped slightly on his back leg, his ankle had…
In telling the stories of all the rescues, there are a few here and there that I have missed out, not many, just a few that were quick turn around so to speak. But to reach 70 +, is I think, quite an achievement for us. So I thought I would share with you how…
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