A huge thank you to our Volunteers and Fosters
We don’t normally share some of our harder stories or what we go through as volunteers, but as the number of surrenders increases and we see other rescues closing their doors, we thought it only fair to share this with you.
For legal reasons, we’ll refer to the dog involved as Mary, to protect the identity of the adopter.
This weekend, two of our dedicated volunteers gave up their free time and drove for hours to remove Mary from what quickly became an urgent and distressing situation.
The adopter had begged for Mary—completing our vetting process, assuring us she had experience with shy dogs, and promising to let her settle at her own pace. We placed our trust in her words. But within just a week, we received a surrender request.
Mary had been confined to a small bathroom, refusing food, emotionally shut down, and being referred to coldly as “it” and “that dog”. She had already been labelled aggressive after being forced into the garden to meet the resident dog—something we would never recommend for a nervous animal. Despite our advice, the resident cats were allowed to free-roam, constantly invading the only space Mary had been given to feel safe.
Our volunteers arrived to find a scene no one wants to see. One of them shared:
“Yesterday broke my heart and reduced me to tears. I was expecting a scared dog—but nothing like what we were faced with. Mary was in pure flight mode, absolutely petrified of us trying to collect her. She had no idea we were there to help her, and it was heartbreaking that we couldn’t make her understand we weren’t a threat. You could see the fear in her eyes. I honestly don’t know how to describe how scared she was—it seems impossible to put into words what we saw. Once she was in the car, it was so clear what a lovely soul there was under all that fear. She even sat on my lap for a while, and although not overly happy, she did accept head scratches. The drive home was somber, thoughts spinning about this poor girl and how terrified she was. It was hard to sleep last night—a soul that scared is hard to forget. All I can hope is that she will settle in now, learn to trust and accept love. She really deserves that time to become that happy girl we all knew and loved in Romania.”
Mary was covered in her own faeces, urinating in fear, left in the hallway in a complete state of emotional shutdown. The adopter couldn’t even bring herself to face our volunteers, instead sending a family member to hand Mary over.
This is not what we expect when we place a dog. But unfortunately, situations like this are not as rare as they should be. While we work hard to prevent them, we are also the ones who step in when things go wrong.
But there is a glimmer of hope—thanks to the efforts of two volunteers and the compassion of a new foster, Mary is now safe.
She is in a calm, experienced foster home where she has already started to eat, explore, and cautiously accept gentle affection. She is still scared, but she is no longer alone. Her new foster has shown extraordinary patience and kindness, and we want to say a heartfelt thank you—because many would have panicked at the condition Mary arrived in. Instead, she was welcomed with understanding, care, and quiet reassurance.
This is just one of the countless situations we are dealing with behind the scenes. So if we sometimes take longer to respond, please understand it’s not because we’re not listening—it’s because we’re responding to emergencies like Mary’s. We’re out there, making sure dogs like her get a second chance.
To our volunteers: thank you for giving up your time, your energy, and a piece of your heart every time you step up to help.
To Mary’s new foster: thank you for being exactly what she needed when she needed it most.
To our supporters: thank you for standing with us. Rescue work is tough—but it’s also deeply worth it.