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| Some of our family of rescued dogs |
If a man's best friend is his dog, then my husband and I are several times blessed. We didn't set out to have a dog pack, but that's how it's turned out. And as for the 4 cats, who just drifted in and stayed... don't even go there!
We are back home in the UK now, suffice to say, when we lived in Cyprus our four-legged family expanded continually. All came back to live with us here in Warwickshire, England.
In the picture you can see just 4 of our girls; Daisy, Sally, Teddy and Choo Choo, as they waited patiently for their Dad to come home on the terrace of our Cyprus house.
Each joined the family following their near death experiences. As each one arrived and wrapped themselves gratefully around their first meal chez Skelton, we avowed each time that they were absolutely the last four-legged additions the family would be getting. Who were we kidding? ;) I'll tell you more another time :)
Teddy we rescued as a tiny traumatised puppy from the centre of a main road in the Troodos mountains over 13 years ago. We suspect unbelievably, she'd been dumped from a car. Choo Choo was found in almost similar circumstances a few months later; Sally was found senseless on the motorway, after being hit by a car, and Daisy was dumped by hunters on the mountain where we lived. I won't describe or publish photos of the thick metal collar strangling Daisy when she was found, nor her festering flesh protruding through the gaps in the tight links. It's too sickening! These horror stories have happy endings, their lives have been transformed for the better and so have ours.
We no longer live in Cyprus, and thank God, though we all know it goes on everywhere, we just do not personally come into contact on a daily basis with animals needing our life saving help here in the UK. However, animal cruelty, neglect and not enough animal shelter provision continues to be a huge problem in Cyprus. Thank goodness there are good people trying to make a difference, and Jodies Cyprus Dogs Rehoming is a charity that is doing amazing work. Jodie works tirelessly with her team here in the UK together with her mother and father (our friends) who live in Cyprus. To see what I mean do take a look at their website.
