Almost exactly eight years ago, our family decided to visit our local RSPCA pet shelter in Launceston to see if we could find a dog that would make an extra member of our fur family, but also provide a companion/reason for my husband to walk regularly as part of his mental health recovery.
We scanned the rows of cages at the shelter and didn't connect with any of the dogs until the very last cage. Right at the back sat a black puppy with tan paws, like he'd been running in mud. He looked up at us and we knew he was the dog we'd been looking for. After filling in the forms we took our little squirmy black bundle home on Bastille Day, hence his name.
Bastille is kind and happy and so protective of his family, including his sisters Coco (cat) and Ginny and Biscuit (guinea pigs). He is loved not only by us, but also his community family, who he sees on his daily 5km walks. They always stop to pat him and their canines are his friends too. We know Bastille (Bas) has a good life with us, but it was us who the dog jackpot.