As I scrolled through Instagram, I took in the famous faces with their fast cars and designer clothing, each account boasting thousands of followers. And then I clicked onto my dog Maggie’s page. With her stitched-up eyes and one ear, she doesn’t look like your average social-media superstar. But my precious pup has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram, and I bet not many of your typical celebs have a story like Maggie’s.
I first heard about her in September 2018 when my mum bounded into the lounge shaking her phone at me. ‘Kasey, we have to have her,’ she said, showing me a picture of Maggie. The photo had been posted on Facebook by the charity Wild At Heart Foundation, where I worked sometimes as a dog foster mum. Looking at the photo, she was clearly in a really bad state and I knew she was in need of some looking after.
I’ve always loved animals, getting my first dog, Tootsie the Chihuahua, when I was just 15 and studying Animal Behaviour at college and then university in Bristol. After moving home to Brighton to live with my mum in 2016, I set up a doggy daycare business and soon started offering help with behaviour. At the charity, I helped nervous dogs learn to be around people and other pups. ‘I don’t think Mishka’s ready for another dog in the house yet,’ I said to Mum. Mishka was our Alaskan klee kai, who we’d rescued four months before, and I worried that eight paws padding around the house might be a bit overwhelming for her.
‘I just couldn’t stop talking about Maggie’
Only, over the next couple of days, Mum and I couldn’t stop talking about Maggie. ‘Maybe we should offer to foster her if no one comes forward?’ Mum suggested. It was something we’d done before for the charity.
Hard to resist
This story is from the August 17, 2020 edition of WOMAN'S OWN.
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This story is from the August 17, 2020 edition of WOMAN'S OWN.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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