Tia – from stray to loving companion

When stray dogs come into our care, they often arrive scared and confused. With no background, we work hard to get to know them so we can understand their needs and learn their personalities.

This was the reality for Tia, a Shepherd cross, who arrived at our Hertfordshire centre in Watford back in the summer of 2022. At just 8 months old, she had no place to call home, and we had no indication of what she had been through in her young life to end up at our gates.

We took things very slowly at first and began to get to know young Tia. One thing was clear, she was a very sweet girl who had lots of love to give, so we were off to a good start. We did notice that she was very shy and nervous of new people, but this quickly changed as she developed a very strong bond with two of our animal carers. It then became very clear that she was going to make a very loving companion for the right family.

Tia’s luck was in, as by August 2022 she was rehomed to the Evans family, who had come to us in search of a four-legged friend to complete their home. After meeting Tia for the first time, it was love at first sight and they knew instantly that she was the dog for them. One year on Tia is thriving in her loving home, and her owners have got in touch to send us some heart-warming photos as well as a wonderful update:

Lisa said, “We welcomed Tia into our house with open arms, she has brought such joy to our family. My son, who was 12 when we got Tia, was critically ill at the time with cancer. Tia was by his side when he was feeling very poorly. Tia helped him with his road to recovery and he is now fighting fit. We feel so blessed she has come into our lives.”

Everyone here at the National Animal Welfare Trust would like to take this opportunity to wish Lisa’s son well and are so pleased to hear he is now on the road to recovery. We also want to thank Lisa and the family for sharing this with us, we are so happy to hear how well Tia is doing.

Are you looking for a new canine companion? If so, make sure to head over to our rehoming page to see all the animals we have available for rehoming.

Please enjoy the below photos as much as we did!