Blue Cross is a charity that has been helping sick, injured, abandoned and homeless pets since 1897. For 125 years, we’ve been helping sick, injured and homeless pets. From the streets of London, to the frontline of World War One, we’ve never closed our doors to vulnerable pets. Pets help us in so many ways and they depend entirely on us. That’s why the Blue Cross believes in helping pets because pets help us.
“I found myself laughing when Wally was running in the garden and, I thought: ‘That’s the first time I’ve done that since losing Martin.”
Those are the poignant words of Gai Cox, who rehomed dog Wally from Blue Cross after her beloved husband of 34 years passed away, followed by their dog, Basil, a year later. At her darkest time, the lurcher became the mum-of-two’s shining light – and for Wally, Gai was his.
He arrived at our rehoming centre in Bromsgrove, West Midlands, with his brother Gromit, having been found straying, frightened and hungry. Nobody knew what trauma lay in the siblings’ past, but while resilient Gromit quickly grew in confidence, all Wally could do was hide and quiver in his shadow. The only way to build his independence and trust in humans was to get him used to spending time away from Gromit.
The now four-year-old dog started to make good progress and showed great affection for his trusted circle of people but remained petrified of strangers – particularly men. He would cower in the corner when meeting potential new owners, leaving the sweet boy struggling more than most pets at Blue Cross to find a home; more than 100 days, in fact.
Claire said: “I felt so sad for Wally. Every day he hoped to be picked out by someone who would make him their forever companion. Yet his hopes were dashed, time after time.” But when Gai walked through the door, she could see past Wally’s fears and into his kind eyes – and knew that they needed each other equally.
Gai said: “He has helped me massively. I don’t know where I would have been, given the situation I had found myself in. We’ve helped each other.”
Wally has now been living with Gai for more than a year, and he is unrecognisable from the shell of a dog he once was. “We just had to help him find his feet,” said Gai.
He provided particular support to Gai during lockdown earlier this year. She said: “He’s so happy all of the time, he always seems to be in a good mood, with a waggy tail and a smiley face.”
Gai says Wally has helped her as much as she has helped him. “You can’t ever feel down when you’ve got that in your life.”
This month, you can donate directly to Blue Cross through our Donate A Car Scheme. You can choose to donate some, or all of the profits of your scrap car to this month when you scrap your vehicle with Scrap Car Comparison. Your donations make huge difference to charities and their vital work!View our FAQs on donating a car to charity for further details on how to donate.
