Just days after adopting Beautie, I lost my father. Was it coincidence or meant to be? Who knows, but she got me through a very difficult time. She would sit and lick away my tears or just lie in my arms for hours, giving me much needed comfort. We might have rescued her, but she rescued me right back. Dogs have this incredible intuition of knowing how we are feeling and when we need their help. She is my inspiration, motivation, and drive to find a way of doing more for rescue dogs.

After moving back to the UK, I started investigating the local situation regarding rescue dogs and rescue centres. My findings were heartbreaking. The reasons dogs get abandoned vary from understandable ones to outrageous ones like people preferring to spend money on a holiday but do not want to pay for dog boarding. The most upsetting discovery was the sheer number of homeless dogs and the number of dog rescue centres struggling to survive. According to research by Dogs Trust, 130.000 dogs get abandoned in the UK each year. That figure is from a few years ago so who knows how high it currently is and especially how high it will be after COVID.

I knew it was time to see how I could help make a difference. After several brainstorming sessions, I  came to the conclusion that there were 2 things I needed to focus on. Raising money for rescue centres and to reduce the number of dogs that end up in rescue centres. And so in July 2020 DoggyLottery was started.