SUCCESS STORIES

FURSA'S STORY

From the Streets of Egypt to a New Life in the UK

Fursa was rescued in May 2024 from the streets of Egypt, a very sick and broken boy in desperate need of help.

Thanks to the quick action and compassion of our supporters, we were able to step in and save him. We named him Fursa, meaning 'chance' because that’s exactly what he was being given, a Second Chance.

After an initial vet visit, Fursa was referred to a specialist clinic for x-rays and urgent treatment. He was in a terrible state: his skin and ears were infested with mites, his tail was completely bald, his eyes constantly weeping, and he was unable to stand on his back legs.

But Fursa never gave up.

By June, he had started to support himself again and began intensive treatment to help strengthen his bones and rebuild his body.

His medical care in Egypt was costly, but our generous community rallied once again, donating what was needed to cover his treatment and even helping us ship essential medication from the UK to reduce expenses.

Despite all he had been through, Fursa quickly became a favourite with his rescuers. His gentle nature and constant tail wags won everyone over, and he made sure to greet each person with his happy smile.

International transport for rescue dogs is never easy, and flights from Egypt to the UK are particularly expensive. Once again, our amazing supporters came together and raised the funds needed to get Fursa safely home.

Waiting at Heathrow was Ollie, who works closely with our more complex dogs at the kennels. Fursa was swiftly handed over to his loving foster family in Southampton, where he could finally begin to settle and decompress.

Fursa is now enjoying life, exploring his new surroundings, and receiving all the love and care he’s always deserved.

When the time came to consider whether he could travel to the UK, we took every precaution. There were long discussions with his vet to make sure the journey wouldn’t be too much for him.

Once he was declared fit to fly, we worked quickly to finalise the paperwork.

In June 2025, after months of uncertainty, Fursa was given the all-clear. He would travel to the UK with two other dogs, Clover and Peter.

His journey has been long, but his spirit never wavered. The pictures say it all.

FLORA'S STORY

I remember looking at Flora's video and my heart sank seeing her fragile and weak body walking along a lonely road.

I wondered how many people had just turned a blind eye along that road and drove on by before her rescuer saved her. The song to her video replayed in my mind it had the words 'don't give up on me' in it... I knew I had to have her and show her what it feels like to be loved and wanted. The adoption process was smooth despite COVID restrictions, we were kept up to date by Louise and the Second Chance Dog Rescue team throughout. My husband drove to Wales to collect her from the kennels, and she greeted him with such love.

I already had adopted Xana previously, so we were unsure of how it would go with them and my two other dogs. We were nervous, excited and apprehensive...would they all get on? Flora had some bad arthritis that played her up and it affected her back legs and spine making her a bit lame, she would go up and down in pain and we were worried that she wouldn't be ok. But we got on top of this very quickly and did all we could to make her comfortable. She was malnourished when they found her, so we had to build her up gradually with short walks, supplements and pain relief... now she enjoys her walks and races round the garden for zoomies.

At first when she arrived it was tense, there was growling and lunging and figuring out who was pack leader, until everyone knew their place. Flora was desperate to be in the pack, Xana was a little unsure... Toys were guarded especially by Flora, but who could blame her....what had she had before? We just did what we could to take the anxiety away from her and the pack and they soon all relaxed. The bonding just clicked one day, it was beautiful! Xana and Flora are the best of friends now and in fact they are inseparable, they play all day and love each other so much, it's so endearing to see. We all were very patient, respected boundaries, gave them love and tenderness and soon, just like that, out came her real character that we had been longing to see. We laugh because she is an utter TV addict, she sits there looking at us talking/barking to us for ages...we don't know what she is saying but we just agree! She is so playful and happy, she loves the garden and her walks, she just loves life and she has become the dog she always wanted to be! We couldn't imagine life without her or Xana.

We would never give up on you Flora 🥰 thank you for letting us love you xxxxxx