A Forever Home

(and they called it Puppy Love)

In recent times, we have started to work with a wonderful local dog charity called Mikey’s Dog Rescue.  At the helm of this business is the charismatic Michaela, who is totally dedicated in her mission to help dogs find their perfect home.

Michaela is a force of nature and is often seen nurturing a new dog from a troubled background, training them when necessary and ensuring they are healthy and vet-checked;  we have built up a good relationship with her.  This charity has become Michaela’s personal mission, having started working with rescue bodies for the past 16 years, seeing the potential in running her own charity, she started planning Mikey’s Dog Rescue in 2023, with it opening properly in March 2025.

Mikey’s Dog Rescue is a  non-profit making organisation  and is their vocation to bring these unloved canines into a world where they are going to be wanted and loved.  The dogs’ needs are always the priority.  They search for a compassionate owner who is looking to make a connection with a new family member. The philosophy is to give a dog a second chance, a stand against the immoral puppy farming industry  and in effect, save a life.  Mikey’s dog rescue works within the Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire border and we feel it is very special.

All our staff at PHP are great animal lovers and all adore our own pets, it saddens us to read or hear about less fortunate animals.  When we lose one of our pets, it literally breaks our hearts and we want all animals to be loved as much as love ours are.

At the beginning of this year, one of our nurses, Chloe lost her beloved dog Bracken.  She was heartbroken, she was grieving and sad and felt absolutely desolate.    We are all very attached to her and it was so sad to see her so unhappy, but she immersed herself in her work, bravely helping animals and their owners.

A couple of weeks ago, Chloe was working in our Wareham branch, when Mikey’s dog rescue came in with a little pack of new arrivals.  They were all made a fuss of as usual and the staff petted and spoiled them with warmth and kindness.  One of them was a little terrier/ dachshund cross with merle and black markings and melting chocolate button eyes, his name was Jax.

Jax had been rescued from a household where they were considering euthanasia as they couldn’t cope with his liveliness……he was only six months old……

No vet would ever euthanise a healthy animal and so it was he was rescued by the compassionate Michaela.  

The staff who witnessed it, all saw the immediate connection between Chloe and little Jax  and we knew from the moment we saw the pictures of him on her  phone that someone wasn’t going to be homeless for long…..

It took about a week, maybe less, for little Jax to leave his pawprints on Chloe’s heart.  He is now her  little shadow and comes to work with her, having his bed in our staff room.   We all get turns to pet him and tell him how pretty he is and his little tail wags twenty to the dozen, in response.