Give A Dog A Home

Abandoned dogs from across Europe have found a happy home in Keswick

- Emily Rothery

Marilyn Grant is always willing to consider the saddest rescue dog cases that most people overlook and has dedicated the last eight years of her life to giving needy dogs a happy ending to their lives or a fresh start in a loving home.

‘It all started when my husband Fraser died; I needed something to get up in the morning for and I wanted to do something useful. It’s so rewarding when you see a neglected or unhappy dog starting to come out of the other side. People say Fraser would be proud of me, but I think if he is looking down on me, he would think I’m absolutely nuts,’ laughs Marilyn, who is known as Min.

Min adopts dogs from abroad and this country and is now often approached to take on specific dogs from rescue centres. She approaches everything she does with careful consideration only taking on dogs she knows will fit in with her pack. She has a set routine to settle the dogs in when they first come to her and plans feeding and exercise regimes carefully.

When I meet Min, she is exercising her pack at the Hairy Hounds Hotel near Threlkeld, where she regularly hires a paddock. As Min tells me the names of her four-legged friends I begin to spot a theme. Bailey, Stella, Glayva, Rolo, Treacle, Hofmeister and Breezer bound happily around the field and their individual personalities begin to emerge as they play together.