With his lively personality, Cookie makes Gemma's family laugh and smile every day

Cookie has completely changed our lives for the better.

We welcomed him into our family in September as we have a son with some additional needs and a very anxious daughter. We felt that Cookie would be a positive addition to the family, but I never could’ve predicted how much of a difference he would make!

He’s made such a difference

My son who was dependent on his pushchair now walks everywhere and Cookie knows how to make us all smile and laugh on a daily basis. He is very cheeky, but you can’t help but forgive him, particularly when he’s constantly got a waggy tail!

Freya had to spend a lot of time in adoption kennels, but it was worth the wait, as she ended up living with Holly and her partner, who absolutely adore her.

Freya turned one this week, but she has already had a lot of upheaval in her first year. She was born a stray in Cyprus, and taken in by a charity over there who brought her to England at just a couple of months old. Once here, she was adopted by a young owner – we don’t know much about him other than he sadly passed away very suddenly soon after adopting Freya.

We couldn’t be more pleased

She ended up in adoption kennels, and shockingly was there for months. Several families came to meet her, but each time they decided she was just too big and lively to be the right fit for them. Although it’s sad that Freya was in kennels for so long as a young pup still developing, it was great news for myself and my partner who eventually found her and took her home.

Staff at the kennels warned she was a bit wild, strong on the lead and over-excitable. We couldn’t be more pleased, this didn’t put us off. Freya is the most peaceful, loving, intelligent dog we could imagine. We’ve had her for three months now, and a day hasn’t gone by where we haven’t been flabbergasted by how lucky we are to have her in our lives. We now love cosying up in front of the fire with her every night, and wandering through the countryside and along the coast with her at the weekends. We can’t imagine life without her.

Simba came into Deirdre and her husband’s life at one of their lowest moments, but over time he’s helped them heal

Simba came to us as a 14-week-old puppy. We’d recently lost our first cockapoo, Ellie, to hypothermia at 17 months, after she fell in a river in a freak accident while chasing a bird. We were devastated, and coming home to just an empty cage and her favourite toy was horrible.

I knew that I had to do something, so when I saw the advert for Simba, I made an enquiry. We went to see him that evening and we brought him home the very next day. Simba has helped us come to terms with our loss – he makes us laugh, he makes us cry, he exasperates us beyond measure, but he is always there for us when we are sad or upset.

Simba has helped us come to terms with our loss

Simba will never replace Ellie, who’ll always have a piece of our hearts, but he’s so loving and very much a mummy’s boy. He’s my shadow, following me everywhere and crying if I leave the room. He also steals things he shouldn’t, like underwear, socks or anything else he knows belongs to us and is out of bounds – even my mobile phone! I think I’m on phone case number six because he likes to chew them.

Simba's my life. He doesn’t have a nasty bone in his body and would defend his pack (my husband, myself and our best friend) to the ends of the earth to stop us getting hurt. He’s a very special dog, and I’m so glad that I found him at one of the worst times in my life. He’s my rock and I love him beyond words.

Maggie and Roma are perfectly in sync, be that in understanding each other’s feelings, or in dancing together on stage!

It’s sometimes hard to put into words what Roma means to me. She’s a dog from Romania, an ex-street dog to be precise.

I’ve never met a dog quite like Roma. She’s very deep, if that makes sense. She notices the slightest change and she remembers something for months! Once we found a dead squirrel on the path, so we avoided that walk for a couple of weeks. When we did return she went straight to the spot where that squirrel was!

Now we dance together

It took her a year to trust me when I first got her, and for us to truly bond. She taught me so much and continues to teach me every day. She even got me to be a dog trainer! That got me out and about meeting people. Now we dance together in front of a crowd, in heelwork to music competitions! In our first ever competition, we came fourth out of 17 other competitors.

It’s not always been easy. She came with baggage, but then again so did I. together we muddled our way through it all to end up here. Today I wouldn’t be without Roma, and I hope she feels the same.

Herbie brings endless love and laughter into Emily’s life

Herbie is a rescue from Beagle Welfare. We adopted him in June 2019 to keep our bereaved dog company. He immediately settled in, though I think he was a bit surprised at how long our walks usually last!

He seems glad to be a part of our household, and we’re so happy to have him. Herbie is adorable and loves everything and everyone. He enjoys stealing dropped items from the floor and will do anything for food. We started dog training classes with him last year, but we had to begin at puppy level. We haven’t made much progress – he’s so cheeky and makes such a spectacle of himself every time, but I think he just loves to be the class clown.

I think he just loves to be the class clown

When he sees other dogs, he likes to play hide and seek, except he doesn’t hide, he just lies down until they come up to him. He won’t move until they do, and we’ve had so many awkward encounters where we’ve had to explain to strangers that Herbie’s waiting for their dog to say hello.

Herbie deserved to be part of a family, and now he is living his best life. We are so grateful for him and the way he’s brightened our world.

Even though some people didn’t think Fibee was beautiful, it was love at first sight when Kat became her dog sitter

Fibee came to me through a dog sitting site, five years ago now. Her owners were French and wanted somebody to look after her when they went back to France, sometimes for weeks at a time. At first, Fibee was very nervous, but I took her everywhere with me and she slowly became more confident. She trusted me.

I didn’t even notice what bad shape she was in. She had decayed teeth, a scabby eye and no hair. I don’t really know how to explain it. Everyone else reacted with a slight recoil, but I thought she was lovely. And love is blind.

The more time she spent at mine, the happier she seemed to be there. Three years ago, her owners asked me whether I’d like to look after her full time. They were having babies so she was being more and more neglected, and she just loved her visits to mine.

I can’t believe how lucky I am

I honestly couldn’t believe it – I could have never imagined such an outcome when I first met her. But I said yes, without hesitation.

Before Fibee, I was a bit wild, spending weekends out with mates. Nothing too crazy, but nothing too healthy either. Fibee changed all that. She gave me a routine. I knew I needed to take care of her and make her feel safe.

No vets could tell me what was wrong with her skin. But I got her teeth sorted and slowly, with a grain-free diet, her eye got a lot better.

Now it’s like she’s had a second lease of life. She comes on hikes with me, 5+ miles on the trot. She’s a favourite at the leisure centres I work for, and she just helped me propose to my fiancée.

Sometimes I just stare at her and can’t believe how lucky I am that she chose me.