'End of 15-year relationship meant I could finally make choice I wasn't allowed'

mirror.co.uk:

I welcomed my first foster dog into my home at the start of lockdown, and it was life changing. Now, when I hear a new dog is coming into my life I can barely sleep.

I am so excited. What will they look like? How will their personality be? What challenges will I need to help them overcome?

I’ve always been a dog lover, but was never allowed one when I was growing up in Essex. Then in my late teens, I met a guy who did not like dogs – our relationship lasted 15 years, so getting a four-legged friend had not been an option.

When he and I eventually split in 2019, he moved out of our Gloucestershire cottage, and I thought, ‘Sod it! I’ve only myself to please now.’ It was back in September, soon after the break-up, when I contacted the Dogs