Poodles abandoned in squalid home find forever homes

By Ed Chatterton

Multiple poodles that were among 250 rescued after being found crammed in a single squalid property have found loving new homes after making remarkable recoveries.

Heartbreaking photos showing the pooches packed tightly together in a filthy home in Nottingham touched the hearts of the nation after hitting the headlines last month.

The animal charity was even forced to deny the image of the severely matted dogs was fake or AI-generated because it was so shocking.

Rescuers found many of the dogs caked in their own filth with dozens suffering with skin sores and matted coats — while others were forced to sleep in a wood burner in the fireplace.

The RSPCA rescuers were tipped off about the house of horror by concerned neighbors and rescued 87 dogs while the rest were taken by Dogs Trust.

While a handful are still looking for their forever homes, the majority have already gone on to enjoy a new life with RSPCA adopters after less than a month.

Among those to enjoy a yappy ending was Barney, who was saved by Donna and David Shultz, and sons Jack, 20, Charlie, 18, and Alfie, 16.

Donna said: “We chose Barney because he looked so vulnerable and nervous; we instantly fell in love with him.

“The image was such a shock; although we knew where Barney had come from, until we actually saw it you can't imagine how bad it actually is.

"I kept looking at it thinking Barney is in there somewhere. I can understand why some people thought it was AI as you could never imagine that it could be real.

“Barney is an absolute joy. He has settled so well into our family and routine. We feel so lucky to have him.”

Another young poodle called Boone, aged about 1, was underweight and matted when he was rescued.

But he is now said to be loving his new life in London with owners Dermot Murphy, wife Breda, and children Joseph, 22, and Tereasa, 20.

Dermot, 56, who previously worked for 30 years with the RSPCA, said the family decided to look at adopting another dog after losing their previous cocker spaniel Carson, aged 14, in January and their other pet Bessie, aged 8, was missing him.

He said: “When we first got him I had to carry him into the car and then into the house because he had never been on the lead and the whole world was a bit scary for him.

"I remember when he first went into the garden he just planted his feet down and wouldn't move — we think it must be the first time he had been on grass.

“He really has brought light into our life and it is lovely having a puppy in the house again. He is learning from Bessie and has just fitted into our lives perfectly. He now has confidence which he didn’t have before and even walks with a bit of a swagger.”

Another pooch, Tiger, did not know what a feeding bowl was and had to be hand-fed by her new owners Charlotte Chubb, 47, and Justine Drury, 53, from West Bridgford, Nottingham.

The couple decided to look at adopting another dog as they thought their pets, including poodle Noodle, aged 13, and Goldendoodle Graham, 6, needed some extra company.

Justine, 53, said: “We were looking at getting another dog as we lost Noodle’s brother Rolo seven months ago, and always had three dogs so we looked on the RSPCA website and saw a poodle also called Noodle in need of a home and we thought the stars had aligned and it was meant to be."

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Elsewhere, 10-month-old poodle Winston was so nervous he was scared of his own leash and collar and had to be carried around at first when he was adopted by new owners Lisa and Mark Bream.

Mark, a retained firefighter with Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service, and Lisa, who works part-time for Next, had initially gone to the center to meet another dog.

Lisa said: “When we first saw Winston he was a trembling wreck; he’d buried his head in the collar of the animal care assistant’s jacket and you could immediately tell how nervous he was.

"He cautiously licked my husband’s hand as if he wanted to interact with us, but he wasn’t sure he should.

“We visited the center every day for the next two weeks to try and build up a rapport with Winston and gain his trust.

“On March 12, after further meetings and introductions with Daisy, we were able to take Winston home for the first time. Initially we had to carry him everywhere; everything was so new to him, he was even scared of his own collar and lead.

"Every night now he’ll bring the toys from his safe space and put them in his basket before he goes to sleep."

Dexter has been rehomed by Liz Mummery, of Surrey, who wanted a companion for her dog Teddy, after losing a dog recently.

Liz said: "When he first met Teddy, it truly was like they had been best friends forever; they just started running around, and the day we brought him home, he laid down in Teddy’s bed and you could see on his face where he suddenly thought, ‘That’s it, I’m home now,’ and just fell asleep.

"He bounces around like a sheep with just pure joy and happiness every day.”

Jenny, in Hertfordshire, has now found a loving new home with Jayne Parratt, her sons Harry and Flynn, and their Goldendoodle Barney.

Jayne said: "The staff were so sweet; they carried her in to meet us as she hadn't walked outside before, and they explained ‘that she didn’t have a perfect haircut but they had done their best.’

"I realize now — having seen that picture — just how good a job they had actually made of cleaning her up as I hadn’t realized how bad she was when they rescued her. When we took Barney along for a meeting they fell in love immediately, so it was a no-brainer.

“We went home and ordered her a lovely new bed and other bits. As we opened the box and unpacked it, she jumped straight into it and has just wanted to be in it ever since. It occurred to us that not only had she never had a bed, she’d never had anything of her own.

“Jenny and Barney are inseparable now and play for hours in the garden together and they now often choose to snuggle up on the sofa together rather than their beds.”

Anna White, manager at RSPCA Southridge who was at the rescue and helped care for some of the dogs, said: “When we first went to the property and opened the door we were confronted by a sea of dogs — just like in the photograph — and you couldn’t work out which body part belonged to who.

“The smell was horrendous. The dogs were living in a slurry pit and there was nowhere on the floor which wasn’t covered in feces and the ammonia was burning our eyes.

"They weren’t living in those conditions — they were existing. It is the worst scene I have seen in my 38 years with the RSPCA.

“When we were taking them out of the house they were very quiet but they have been amazingly resilient and soon became different dogs altogether — they have coped so well.

"I am so pleased to see how their lives are now transformed and it is fantastic."