He’s called Justin because we got to him just in time.
This is where he was found by Chrissi May and her veterinary surgeon husband Chris on a trip to Bulgaria in October 2008. It was a sheer fluke that they noticed him as they pulled over to re-set their satellite navigation system which was trying to direct them along a closed road. Justin was abandoned, tied up by a chain to the back of a lonely derelict building set about 20 metres back from a busy main road seven kilometres from the nearest town. He was rack thin, with his coat matted, sores on his skin and his collar cutting into the flesh of his neck. There was no food or water in sight. Bulgaria has bitterly cold winters with heavy snowfalls and winter was just around the corner. Justin’s tragic and untimely death seemed inevitable.
Chrissi fed him and though she couldn’t bear to think of leaving him where he was, there was no other immediate option. On her return to England she set to attempting to rescue him, even planning to fly back to Bulgaria if necessary. If you knew her well, you would know just how determined she can be! Initial attempts were made to contact animal rescue charities in Bulgaria. Sadly, it turned out that although there are several small charitable groups in Bulgaria all trying to do their best to help these dogs, often with limited resources, there are no large national canine rescue charities. Many understood the problem, but nobody seemed able to help. There followed many (very many) emails and telephone conversations over many days, involving some of the small groups in Bulgaria and some of the larger animal charity organisations and individuals in the UK, and Germany. As time passed by it seemed almost certain that Justin would die where he was tied up.
Finally, at the beginning of November, Chrissi made contact with someone who could help.
This lady is a hero. She’s a Bulgarian who lives in Sliven, the town closest to where Justin was found. With a little help from Google Earth Chrissi and Chris were able to locate the place where they first saw Justin and direct her to him. She has no car so one evening after work, she and her father (poor chap has a heart condition) walked in the pitch dark and pouring rain across fields and by the busy road to find the place. They left town at 6pm and didn’t get back until after 9.30pm, cold and wet through.
Luckily, Justin was still alive. They had to cut his collar off of him. He was starving and parched with thirst. Our friend gave him food, little and often at first, and water, which he drank as if there was no tomorrow. She bathed him, treated him for parasites and gave him a temporary home. She introduced him to other dogs to socialise him and organised the medical treatment he needed before he could be safely transported back to the UK to his new home. She did all of this simply out of the goodness of her heart and with funds from her own pocket. Many more telephone calls and emails followed, involving, amongst others, British Airways, veterinary colleagues, quarantine kennels, specialist animal transportation organisations, the cargo unit at Sofia airport in Bulgaria and the Dept. for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Finally, on the 15th December 2008 Chrissi and Chris flew back to Bulgaria to meet up with Justin once again and to finally - meet the lady who rescued Justin face to face for the first time. After an emotional meeting and a few days in Sliven letting Justin get used to the strange people from England, he was flown back to the UK. He is in quarantine until 18th June 2009, but it is a warm and dry place with regular food and water available and freedom to exercise in a run. Chrissi visits him every day and Chris visits whenever he can, at least once each week.
From being tied up and left to die of starvation, Justin had to trust two strangers who came to him out of the dark and rain. He had to trust them to cut his collar off of him and he had to walk with them for nearly two hours. Almost as soon as he had learned to trust these new people and the company of other dogs, two more strangers came along with different words and he then had to learn to trust them. He had just a few short days to gain some confidence with these new people before he had to endure many hours in a small crate and the noise, movement and confusion of airports, cargo handling and a 3 hour airplane flight in the hold of a passenger jet.
After this there followed more cargo handling and another airport, a five hour motorway journey with yet another stranger in a van and finally even more strangers and the new and noisy surroundings of quarantine kennels. Despite facing all of this in a very short space of time, Justin has proven to be a delight. He is an intelligent, loving and well behaved dog who adores the company of people and other animals and is very keen to learn. Understandably shy at first he has come out of his shell and now loves to play games and roll on his back for tummy tickles.
In June 2009 Justin will join Chrissi and Chris and their three other dogs (West Highland White Terriers Jeremey and Jamie and three-legged lurcher Jasmine) at home at their cottage in the Cheshire countryside where he can finally begin to really enjoy life to the full.
This inspirational little dog and the equally inspirationnal lady who helped us were the motivating factors behind Justin’s Trust. Justin’s Trust exists to help other dogs like Justin and we are delighted that she has agreed to work with Justin’s Trust in Bulgaria. With the help of someone as motivated as her on the ground and with financial support from the UK, Justin’s Trust can really make a difference.
If you have found Justin’s story uplifting then please make a donation to Justin’s Trust by clicking here
To read more about the work of Justin’s Trust click here
