It’s fair to say that Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz-Beckham are dog people. The celebrity couple’s latest venture is reportedly the Peltz Beckham Foundation, a shelter for homeless dogs. Nicola Peltz-Beckham is already the founder of Yogi’s House, a foster-based rescue shelter in LA.
Her latest post promoting a dog looking for its forever home has raised some eyebrows, however. “Let's get Brooklyn adopted!” she captioned a re-post from Yogi’s House, featuring an adorable mutt puppy apparently named after her husband.
Gossip-lovers keeping up with the on-going Beckham family ‘feud’ have taken it as a subtle dig at her husband’s family. The eldest Beckham son hasn’t been seen at any major family events this year — including Victoria and David’s respective birthday parties — and social media interaction seems to have ceased.
It’s also resurfaced old rumours that Victoria Beckham was offended by her new daughter-in-law choosing not to wear a dress from her fashion brand for their 2022 wedding. Is the puppy post a subtle dig that Brooklyn has been fully adopted into his new family unit in LA?
While trolling ones in-laws online isn’t the best way to turn down the temperature on this media storm, the celebrity couple are bringing attention to a completely worthwhile cause.
Nicola and Brooklyn’s dog fostering project comes from a tragic place, too. Their beloved chihuahua Nala died suddenly following a routine dog grooming session last year. The couple laid their adored pup to rest in a white coffin, and vowed to make the world a safer place for dogs — and sued the company that offered the grooming service.
Even if you haven’t lost a four-legged friend, fostering is a brilliant way to help a homeless dog find their feet — and eventually a new family. My housemates and I have a revolving door of fosters coming through, and they’ve bought so much love, joy, and only a little chaos to our lives.
We foster through the charity Project Galgo, who rescue sighthounds from Spain. These adorable Galgos (also called Spanish Greyhounds, they have even longer tails and bigger ears) and Podengos (sweet little hounds) are terribly unloved in their home country.
They’re bred for hare coursing, but their handlers often turn them out on the streets at the end of hunting season, and they’re seen as strays and pests. Often they have been abused, so can be very nervous of humans. They’ve never lived in a home before, but they can make the most wonderful pets with time and care.
Project Galgo and their team of volunteers bring them to the UK, where we foster families take them in to help them acclimatise before they’re put up for adoption.
Because my housemates are truly excellent people, they already had a sweet rescue greyhound as a permenant family pet. He is the most gloriously lazy boy, and while he is very much the king of the house, he benevolently shows our foster pups the ropes, ie how to enjoy life’s finer things such as sofa naps.
Each hound has their own set of needs. Most of them need to be housetrained, but that’s just par for the course. Sometimes they’re little escape artists, like Melita the Podengo street dog who could jump incredible heights. She could also chew through a tote bag in five seconds flat, and needed a lot of cuddling before she could be left home alone.
Sometimes their legs are so long and their snoots so large that no food on the counter is safe. Harry, our latest resident Galgo, only has three working legs. His handler surrendered him with a broken back leg that had already set at an angle. He was initially very nervous with strangers, especially men, but is now the most affectionate boy and wannabe lapdog, despite his size. He loves doing zoomies in the garden and, now he has proven himself to be gentle and sweet with cats, he’s got a new family lined up to adopt him.
Yes it’s hard to say goodbye each time. I initially thought I would be a “foster fail” that just ends up falling in love and keeping an ever-growing pack of dogs. But it’s genuinely so lovely to see them find their new family and settle into a lovely life. Plus we get regular photo updates, and keep a gallery wall of all the fosters that have passed through our home.
So, whatever your stance on the Beckham ‘feud’, the cause of fostering dogs is a great one. You don’t need a celebrity-backed shelter to get started — Project Galgo is always looking for more foster homes. There’s truly no better feeling than helping an animal feel safe and loved.
