A two-legged dog rescued from Ukraine is now living a happy life in the UK and is even rehabilitating other pups who also had a rough start in life.
Two-year-old Lollipop was born paralysed and found by Handipet Rescue in the Czech Republic on the streets who investigated intensively on his condition.
He was later transferred to a well-equipped Irlam-based animal sanctuary, Dogs 4 Rescue, in August last year, where two other double amputee dogs Sherry, 11, and Gyp, 3, have also been given specialised care.
Ali Hudson, 52, who is the marketing and fundraising officer at Dogs 4 Rescue, told TeamDogs : “The first time Lollipop arrived at our centre, he just came in and started running around the park.
“He was absolutely breath-taking in his happiness and lust for life. He has no perception that he's paralysed or he's lost both of his legs, and he just wanted to go and meet all the other dogs, which was what he did.
“He was like a little whirlwind that made our hearts melt.”
In a video recently shared by the centre, Lolly is playing with Daria, a one-and-a-half-year-old rescue from Romania who arrived in a terrified state, in the visitor area of the rehabilitation centre.
“Dogs like Lolly were like ‘come on, let’s play!’ So Daria gradually relaxed,” said Ali. “The UK dogs will teach the foreign dogs how to play with toys, and the foreign dogs will teach the UK dogs manners because they have really great social skills and body language.
“All the dogs here are on different journeys, but they tend to rehabilitate each other. So Lolly’s just helping Daria as much as she is helping him, because he's having the best time of his life.”
The kennel-free rehabilitation centre has had "very successfully" encounters with paralysed dogs owing to its unique setup, and specialises in taking on the most difficult pups.
“Daria was very shut down at her previous rescue centre. But dogs like Lolly have taught her that she can trust us because she has been watching their interactions with us all the time.
“We still have some work to do with her in terms of lead training, but now she's in a really good place so we've got a window to work with her,” added Ali.
Dogs 4 Rescued rehomed two-legged Gyp earlier this year who helped his new owner overcome the fear of a traumatic car crash.
Sanctuary dogs like Sherry and Lolly might stay with Ali and her colleagues forever at the centre, as their inability to control their toilet movements makes them harder to care for.
Luckily, they’ve got their own fan base of supporters who sponsor the pups from £5 a month to help pay for their lifetime care with Dogs 4 Rescue. Click here to find out more about how to sponsor a sanctuary dog.
Ali admitted: “Lolly’s such an inspiration. It warms your heart watching him running around with other dogs. It makes you want to work harder for them.
“We love all our dogs here, but we have a phrase that we put on the things which is ‘be more Lollipop’ – that became a little hashtag we use on our social media posts.
“It's a privilege to live your life with these dogs because they inspire you every day. Lolly has the brightest soul. His little personality that is so full of happiness, hope and optimism just shines.
“Our supporters have been saying that watching our dogs in these videos has helped them get through lockdown, which is just wonderful to hear.”
