From wags to riches!
After a tough start in life, my Bindi’s mingling with the stars
She was months away from ending up as dinner
As soon as I caught sight of her big, sad eyes, I knew I had to help her.
It was December, 2016 when I first saw Bindi, then 9 months.
Her gorgeous face was peering out from below a headline in the newspaper.
Saved from hell, it read.
I learnt how, along with 200 other dogs, she’d been rescued from a dog-meat farm in South Korea.
Locked up in a tiny wire cage, she’d been months away from ending up on a dinner plate. Horrible. Hopping online, I followed the rescued dogs’ journey with Humane Society International (HSI) from South Korea to the UK.
Next, I trawled through the website of the re-homing charity All Dogs Matter.
There, finally, I glimpsed a familiar fluffy white face. Bindi! She was so small, fragile... I knew she had to be mine.
Traumatised and starved of love, Bindi would need more than a few doggy treats, of course.
‘You’ll help welcome her, won’t you?’ I cooed to my two Tibetan terriers nuzzling my feet. With the help of BG, 13, and Billyboy, 8, we could give Bindi a loving home.
In January 2017, I contacted All Dogs Matter and arranged to visit Bindi at her temporary foster home in Hertfordshire.
I walked toward the house, excited to meet her.
Her foster carer opened the door with Bindi in her arms. ‘She’s very nervous around humans,’ her foster mum warned me.
Sure enough, as soon
as she was plopped on to the floor, she scarpered away to hide underneath an armchair. A few minutes later, I went back to the car to fetch BG and Billyboy to meet Bindi. Billyboy padded towards her. Timidly, they greeted each other with a nudge of wet noses. ‘I guess they’ll get along,’ I chuckled.
But I knew it was going to take longer for me to earn Bindi’s trust. Who could blame her? All her life, she’d been hurt by humans.
I was determined to make her feel safe. That day, I was given the OK from All Dogs Matter to take Bindi home.
She cautiously nibbled her food but wouldn’t come near me.
So I settled down on the living room floor all evening, allowing her to size me up in her own time. After three hours, Bindi nestled her warm little body into my side. Building trust, I dared to stroke her gently. But the next few months were a challenge.
Bindi needed to adapt to her surroundings and meet new people.
For several weeks, if I put on clothes she didn’t recognise, she would wet herself in fear.
Poor girl! Eventually, she got used to my wardrobe and my regular visitors.
But going outside proved even more tricky.
Bindi leapt behind me, barking at every car or cyclist passing by.
But finally, three months on, I coaxed her off her lead and she ran round the park. Success!
Two years later, I can hardly believe my cheeky princess is the same pup I saw in the newspaper.
She’s still no fan of strangers, but that’s not stopped her making some celebrity pals.
As an ambassador for HSI, she’s charmed her way into Simon Cowell’s heart, got a grin from Ricky Gervais and even had a cuddle with Megan BartonHanson from Love Island.
I’m never jealous – I know I’ll always be her number one.
Bindi’s my best pal, and I was frustrated being clueless about much of her past.
I didn’t even know what breed she is!
Her rescuers said she’s a Chihuahua cross – but with her snowy fur and corkscrew tail, I was certain that wasn’t the whole story.
So, in 2018, I decided to do a doggy DNA test.
Swabbing Bindi’s mouth, I sent off the sample to a company called Wisdom Panel.
The results came back a month later.
Turned out Bindi was only 12 per cent Chihuahua, crossed with a Japanese spitz, Jindo, and a few other Asian dog breeds.
A Jindo is a large hunting dog from an island in South Korea.
Who’d have thought it..? My tiny pooch!
Every time Bindi snuggles up next to me on the sofa, I feel like the lucky one. Having pets is a privilege. I’m so proud to call her my paw-some pal!
I can hardly believe my princess is the same pup!