How our Foster Carers gave Dana her forever home
It was love at first sight for nervous stray Dana and our dedicated volunteer dog walkers.
Dana arrived at Dogs Trust Merseyside in 2017, having been found as a stray, scared and wary of people. The team at the rehoming centre knew she would need a very special home – however long it took.
Dana had obviously been through some trauma, she was terrified of the outside world, reluctant to come out of her kennel and was nervous even taking a walk around the grounds. We knew Dana had a long road ahead of her, but we were committed to being by her side every step of the way.
Georgina, Centre Manager
Jonathan and Alison Rutter from Wigan have been volunteer dog walkers with us since 2004, and Dana was one of many dogs Alison walked.
“When lockdown happened, we couldn’t volunteer on site, so we chatted to the team about fostering Dana, as she’d already been there two years. We said we’d foster her during lockdown, thinking that would be a few weeks, so we could help the team learn how she reacted to being in a home.”
Alison
They soon found out that Dana was scared of everything, and even going out for a walk was not an option. But in the coming months as restrictions continued and the world closed down, Dana’s world started to open up.
“She started to get used to things at home, although we didn’t have the TV on for some time! At first, she would tentatively walk with us to the end of the garden path, then down the street and then finally around the edge of the park. Now, she loves the park! She has lots of pals and she is a very happy girl. Two weeks of lockdown fostering, has turned into two years! In all that time nobody has come forward to adopt her, so she is staying with us. She is the bravest dog in the world because she chose to trust us and let us help her. Now we can’t imagine our life without her. She is so full of life, and we are so full of love for her.”
Alison
Interested in fostering?
If you'd like to foster one of our dogs, find out more about our fostering scheme and get in touch.
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