Nurse gives a home to pup she reared from birth

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AN ORPHANED pup has been adopted by the devoted veterinary nurse who hand-reared her from birth.

Steph Hodgson doesn’t usually make a habit of taking her work home with her, but after raising Chilli the orphaned chihuahua pup from birth, she knew she was the one for her.

Chilli was one of a litter of four puppies who were hand-reared at the Dogs Trust Bridgend Pen-y-Fai rehoming centre from just a day old, until they were ready for their forever homes at eight weeks of age.

Steph agreed to become the pups’ temporary foster carer and cared for the litter at her home, working around the clock to ensure they had regular feeds and had everything they needed.

After adopting Chilli, she said: “I see dogs of all shapes and sizes every single day and normally go for bigger dogs so I she never thought I’d end up with a tiny breed like Chilli.

“But I fell in love with her sweet nature and cheeky character – she was special. She was originally due to go home to another family, but when that didn’t go ahead as planned, I just couldn’t stop thinking about her going to a home other than mine.

“I went home that night and told my husband Chris about her. He could see just how I attached I was so agreed to us having her, so the next day we spoke to the centre manager, went through the rehoming process and she was officially ours.”

Steph has worked for Dogs Trust for 15 years. She trained at a veterinary practice on the Isle of Wight before moving to Cardiff and eventually ending up as veterinary nurse at Dogs Trust Bridgend.

The last dog she re-homed from Dogs Trust was a 12-week-old lurcher called Shelby, who is now 13.

Steph added: “I absolutely adore working for Dogs Trust Bridgend and doing what I love for a really good cause and for dogs that need our help.

“Chilli is now almost four months old and has settled in perfectly and has also given our older girl Shelby a new lease of life. She has without a doubt completed our family.”