Ash and Holly help rescue centre after Pawtrait Pets competition win
She captured the hearts of the Shropshire Star's readers and now Holly and her owner have been able to repay the centre that rescued her.
Holly the Staffy was the winner of the Shropshire Star's Pawtrait Pets competition, and her owner, Ash, decided to give £100 of the £500 first prize to the centre that had looked after her – Hillbrae Pets Hotel and Rescue Kennels.
Ash, 29, from Telford, said they had been delighted – and surprised – to win the competition, decided by the votes of Shropshire Star readers.
He said: "It got quite competitive with it. We roped in a bit of help from a lot of people but didn't expect to win.
"First I was contacted to say she was in the top three which I was really happy about, then it was two weeks waiting and going to get the paper on the day and when I saw she was first I was well happy."
Ash said Holly had been perfect ever since he had rescued her in January 2019 – apart from a first-week visit to the vets because of her unexpected taste for sweetcorn.
He said: "I had wanted to get a dog for a while and knowing the good things they do at Hillbrae it made sense to do. I went for a walk around there and saw her and it just clicked straight away."
Passionate
He added: "She settled in great, on the first night she was fast asleep on the sofa – she tends to rule the roost a bit.
"But it was learning experience for me – after having her for a week she had a corn on the cob straight off my plate while I was getting a drink, which meant a trip to the vets but she has been fine since."
Ash said he had wanted to give something to Hillbrae, for all the work they do to help dogs – and particularly with the strain of the pandemic hitting income.
He said: "They are a charity and I just think they go above and beyond personally.
"While people come in and buy the dogs it is a ridiculously small amount that they ask for. They come out at all hours to rescue dogs, they give them all their injections and treatments, house them, feed them, and they are very passionate about looking after them.
"Especially at the moment too because they are closed to visitors so their normal income is not what it was. I know it is only £100 but it is better than nothing."
