Recently, my wife Bryn and I travelled to a dog sanctuary near Setúbal, called O Cantinho da Milú. A friend sent us a picture of a rescue dog at the centre, called Elvis, who they thought would make a lovely companion for our 14-year-old dog Daisy.
At first, we were reluctant as we lost two rescue dogs last year and the loss was painful. However, we liked the look of Elvis, as they had named him, and after some deliberation and exchange of emails, we decided to visit the centre with Daisy to meet Elvis.
Nothing prepared us for what we witnessed when we arrived at the centre. They had 700 dogs all needing a home. The centre was well run, and the animals looked well cared for. As we walked past open-sided mesh kennels, we had several friendly loose dogs at our heels, all demanding attention, as we eventually found Elvis.
We immediately fell in love with him. All we needed was to take Elvis to meet Daisy to cement the deal. The good news is Daisy and Elvis hit it off straight away and we brought him home. All the way home, I kept thinking of ways we could assist the animal sanctuary. So why not tell our story?
Hopefully, it might encourage more readers to follow our lead and adopt an animal. A lot a people are reluctant to take in a rescue, but if they read nice stories, they might have a change of heart. We have rescued four dogs previously. Elvis, who we have now named Jasper, is a dream, and we have never regretted our decision for one minute with all our rescues.
To find out how you can help O Cantinho da Milú, visit www.ocantinhodamilu.com
Do you have an animal rescue story you would like to share with our readers? Send in a maximum of 450 words plus three photos to show that happy endings do exist! Email editor@portugalresident.com
By TONY PASS
