Spooky Beginnings.

So, it all began about three years ago when I heard from the daughter of a friend of a friend of a friend (Tsk! That old story. Ed.) This lass spent a lot of time in Bulgaria, as you do. I've no idea why. She could have been a spy? Maybe she was a beetroot buyer for Sainsbury's or a groupie of that Womble uncle, I don't know? (I bet it involved a bloke she was entangled with? Ed.) Anyway, I got sidetracked. Where was I? Oh yes, this lass. She got in touch. Lass: "You rescue dogs, don't you?" Hardy: "Sort of. I do other things as well you know." Lass: "There's this one from Bulgaria needs a home." This riveting and intriguing encounter led me to two of the three most lovely women I have ever met!

Step forward Sheila (top) and Susan. These two bundles of energy, care and love, all wrapped up in girlskin, live in Northampton and, being animal daft like me, volunteer to help find homes for abandoned, emaciated, sick and generally destitute dogs roaming the streets of Bulgaria. These poor creatures (the dogs, not Sheila and Susan!) seem to be regarded by many Bulgarians in the same way as we Brits regard Piers Morgan or the words "We are unusually busy but your call is important to us" and the associated playing of The Four Seasons.

So many of these dogs don't survive but armies of them do, thanks to the third loveliest woman on the planet - Linda Hristova (top), ably assisted by her tireless volunteer, Shelly Danzy. Linda runs Dobrich Dog Rescue in a village near Elhovo, a town in the Yambol Province on the left bank of the Tundzha River, near Bulgaria's southeastern border with Turkey (All right, all right Hardy! Stop coming the big continental expert schtick! We've all got Google Maps. Ed.)

I'll detail more about Linda, Shelly and Dobrich elsewhere on this Blog but for now it is enough to know that they had shipped a rescued dog to Sheila and Linda's care who was in need of a loving, forever home. At that time he went by the name of Frank and was five years old. Sheila and Susan agreed, generously, to drive Frank up to Hardy Towers in Wolverhampton to help me and doubtless to run their eyes over my gaff and check I wasn't actually running some sort of Happy Homes For Pets Pie Company operation. I will never forget that day and will recount it in my next post. LM