One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Helmand

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At Bradshaw’s, we decided that change was overdue in the dog food market and we needed to take what we were good at and make it into something very special indeed.. we want our food to reflect our values. Our model is to create a sustainable stream of giving that helps to feed street dogs around the world by simply feeding our own dogs. 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. 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). 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!

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 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. When my Westie died suddenly in 2019, I found a great big hole in my life but thought I’d never replace him. Moving on a few months, I gradually realised that it was time to have another dog and started looking at rescue dogs. It is sad to see how many dogs need a home, so I decided I would get two small dogs. His recall took a long time – don’t be lulled, get an extendable lead and take your time – lesson 2. 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.I have had dogs as long as I can remember. I grew up with dogs and then later when my work/ life balance meant I was able to spend more time at home, it was not long before a dog (or two) joined my family. 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.

They couldn’t be more different – Jaimie is more nervous but so smart and knows how to get a treat when an action is requested. Kammi is obviously in charge of the 3 of us and likes to set the pace and direction! She is also quite reactive to other dogs, and so we don’t let dogs approach us, which can be difficult with some off lead dogs and not so helpful dog owners! But she is getting better all the time.

Elaine Harrington and Mikka

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. I carried on following 1 Dog via Facebook and was so moved by the plight of the dogs and the wonderful things the charity was doing to help, I was very tempted by some of the dogs available for rehoming, but it wouldn’t have been fair on our old boy, who was enjoying a peaceful retirement. However, when we sadly lost him at the ripe old age of 14 1/2 , after some time to adjust, we decided it was time to welcome another dog into our lives. In the year 2020, the decision was made we were going to get another Romanian puppy, but this time from 1 Dog At A Time Rescue UK. And what a great decision that was. We filled in the adoption forms and chose Rupert from the available dogs. The number of time I thought he had got there, let him off his lead and then his ability to cover the miles made Ussain Bolt look like the slowest snail! Dont be fooled – Lesson 3 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.

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. 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. Due to the war in the Ukraine, DEFRA temporarily suspended Romanian dogs entering the UK. This was put in place in April and has only just lifted. Looking through the many photos, we came across a sibling group of four puppies, three brothers and a sister. Maddie was just a ball of fluff, whereas the three boys were all short haired. Murray, the biggest of the group, had really sad eyes and a face just begging to be loved. So decision made, we’d enquire if either was available. Murray was, but Maddie had been reserved already. Lots of people told me to be very careful about Romanian rescue ‘charities’ and the types of dog they would be rehoming.In my experience, someone is always just a text or a phone call away, or you can ask the group chats: there is lots of help and advice. It’s great that other adopters and fosters love to hear about and see updates, and likewise, it’s great to see the dogs become relaxed and confident. 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.