In our occasional A to Z of Twilight series we’ve reached the letter I. What word beginning with I signifies Twilight? Dogs with names beginning with I? There was Izzie, but no others immediately come to mind. Then, we thought – what about Twilight’s international reach? We’ve certainly got supporters from all around the globe, from our home base location in France, to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the rest of Europe to Australia and the United States. Then, there are the Puds themselves.
Over the years we’ve taken many a poor pud from eastern Europe. Currently, our residents Leia, Winnie, Madge and Rock all hail from Romania. We’ve also taken puds from Spain, such as dear Agneta, who we sadly lost a few weeks ago, and in the past Fonzy, Peggy Sue the feisty chihuahua who stole Daddy Twilight’s heart, Queenie, Stevie our lovely lassie lookalike and dear Zana, the first pud to be collected by Terry, Debbie and The Colonel. Our longest-distance rescue so far has been Steffi, who came to us all the way from Egypt and is now enjoying a wonderful life at Twilight.
Our eastern European contingent have come from Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. Our first disabled Pud was dear Hollie who arrived at Twilight in 2013. We loved Hollie so much she features in two blog posts! Then there was dear little Basil with his wheels, darling Princess Nala and big woolly love Bianca. Other Balkan Puds have included Mozart, Ricky, Nova and Beauty, from Romania, Molly from Bulgaria and Hope from Serbia. Here are a few stories of our international puds, from A for Amber to Z for Zana – look out for more in future blogs!
Amber
Amber and Beauty joined us in February 2018 from Romania, saved by the wonderful Association Orfee. Street dogs to settee girlies. They both came from a refuge housing 1,300 dogs! Can you imagine? Amber was on our wating list for many months, and like Beauty was 15 years of age when she arrived. Despite her initial shyness, Amber soon blossomed at Twilight and it wasn’t long before she left for a wonderful home to see out her days in outreach.
Beauty
Our darling big black fluff ball Beauty stayed at home, and after 18 months of love sadly took her wings to the rainbow bridge. We all shared her cuddles and her singing, which was quite second to none. Beauty came with a mammary tumour too large even then to operate on, but it didn’t bother her, except for the weight of it sometimes. She was just one big happy lump. She found her places, and just exuded happiness to be in amongst friends, love, regular food and fellow singers! She was on pain killers for some time, for the arthritis in her back legs, and clearly something else going on. Following scans, we found the cancer was everywhere, so whilst she was under the anaesthetic we took the decision. So many kisses, so much love. Thank you Beauty, for sharing your love, and teaching us all that is important in this life is simple and just sharing each other.
Molly
Dear poppet Molly was a street girl in Bulgaria, who was saved by a lovely lady who did similar to us here. Sadly, she fell ill, but was sure to home all her puddings before she closed. Like many street dogs, Molly was timid at first but then blossomed. The wash room with your throne of a chair, your grumpy barks, your strong willed ways. We loved you. Nearly 17, her poor body did so well, and whilst she spent years on heart pills, in June 2019 it was her hips that gave out in the end. We miss those big beautiful eyes, and that wagging tail wanting cuddles and a fuss.
Zana
Zana was rescued by the wonderful Levriers & Co in Spain, and from a dire situation of a sad rehomed lady who couldn’t take her baby with her. Dear Zana missed her old family and at one point we thought a broken heart might take her, but she rallied. She was her own girl, and wasn’t keen on much fuss. Leeanne particularly recalls the day Joseph died, “Zana joined me as I lay with Joe, almost bowing in honour. She stayed with us both, it was a most precious time.”