Paws2Freedom Dog Rescue, Cornwall

As with the majority of pet and animal rescue centres, it comes down to the people behind them. In this case, it is the amazing Susan and Mark. I have had the pleasure to meet them and chat with them several times and on every occasion you meet them you will be hard pressed to find a more humble couple, who, as per most 'rescuers', feel like they are never doing enough and have huge 'wishlists' that if accomplished, would make life 100% better for so many ill treated and abused dogs!

Starting with the sad loss of Susan's own pet dog, Spencer in 2011, Susan wanted to fill the very large void he left behind but it would have to be a very special dog to do this. Her search lead her to the plight of Romanian street dogs and abused dogs of which there are so many. She eventually came across a severely abused dog called Aran who was left by its owner, on a chain starving to death.

Aran had never known warm shelter, someone to care for him or any kind of love. He never knew how it felt to be wanted. Susan knew that Spencer would have wanted her to help Aran. The rescue was difficult. Aran’s owner would not agree to letting him go at first, happy it seemed to condemn him to a life of misery, but Susan refused to give up. With the UK quarantine being lifted just a month earlier and with the help of HAR and AAFA, Aran finally arrived home in the UK in Jan 2012!

The plight of the Romanian dogs had well and truly caught her heart and Spencer’s legacy began to be realised. Working as private rescue volunteers, alongside some truly inspiring and devoted private rescuers and animal rescue & welfare organisations in both the UK* and Romania, Susan and her friends were able to change the lives of many more forgotten souls like Aran. Support grew and Susan’s vision, of an organisation dedicated to rescue and inspired by her beloved Spencer and Aran, was realised when, in autumn 2015 Paws2Freedom dog rescue charity was founded and officially registered in the UK.

Their work does not just stop with the rehabilitation of eastern European street dogs. Paws2Freedom work closely with other rescue organisations including RSPCA Cornwall and Nowzad in Devon and worked tirelessly with Nowzad to organise and mobilise an enormous collection of animal and pet welfare items and clothes for the stricken pets and people in the Ukraine. As I said earlier, they never feel as if they are doing enough!

How did I come to choose Paws2Freedom as our main dog rescue beneficiary organisation? Well first and foremost being local to my own location was important to fit in with our community interest company and as it happens, they are geographically one of our nearest rescues. However it was after my first phone conversation with Susan that I knew they would be a beneficiary. You can hear in Susan's voice the pure love she has for all animals but Dogs in particular. With Mark, they work tirelessly with their amazing network of Fosters to rescue, rehabilitate and and rehome abandoned and abused dogs.

Paws2Freedom also represent our own personal best achievement to date! Earlier in the year, May 2022, a customer came into our Paws For Thought shop in Launceston, Cornwall, to buy some treats for the dog he was dog-sitting. This customer had his life changed by the Covid outbreak in that he would work from home and this was going to be a permanent arrangement. However, a friend of his had to go and work abroad for a while and asked our customer if he would dog-sit for his dog while he was away. The customer told me he had really enjoyed the experience of taking care of a dog and was already feeling the impending hole he would have in his life when his friend returned and he would take his dog back which was due to be soon.

I explained that we supported a local dog rescue organisation, (Paws2Freedom), who had a number of dogs available for adoption. He took their business card from me and that was the last I heard of anything until......I got a couple of photos from Susan showing our customer meeting Scout, one of their rescued dogs from Bosnia. They are such lovely photos and you can see an immediate bond was formed.

A few weeks passed and our customer formerly became Scouts Dad and I get to see both of them regularly when they come into our shop to top up on lots and lots of treats for Scout and I get to have cuddles with the happy and very cheeky Scout. He really is now living his very best life and in turn, he is a wonderful companion for our customer who has now become part of the local Dog walking community with lots of people and their doggo's getting to know Scout very well.

I am so proud because this is how a community of animal loving people can work together resulting in such happy and rewarding outcomes.

If you have room in your life for a doggy companion or want to add to your existing family of pets then please get in touch with the team at Paws2Freedom. They are highly ethical and very supportive. They would love to hear from folk interested in being Fosters!