Content note: this story describes a dog who was severely underweight with skin disease. There are no graphic images in this article.
Flo is a saluki cross, with the long legs, fine face and soft ears that make her breed so elegant. Today she has a home and a favourite couch. But when the RSPCA first photographed her, she was barely recognisable as the graceful dog she is now.
This is the story of Flo’s long road from a puppy farm in South Wales to a sofa she could call her own.
Rescued from a puppy farm
In March 2021, South Wales Police executed a warrant at a puppy-farm site in South Wales. Flo was found there, one of 21 dogs rescued from the site: Flo and 20 others.
Puppy farms put profit before the welfare of the animals. Dogs are often kept in poor conditions, with little care for their health. Flo’s condition showed exactly what that can mean.
Skin and bone
The photo of Flo after her rescue is hard to look at. She is standing on a concrete yard, held by a handler in red protective clothing. She is skeletal. Her body is covered in sores from mange, a skin disease that can cause hair loss, itching and painful skin.
At the top-left edge of the photo, you can see part of the metal front of a kennel run. It is only a glimpse at the edge of the frame, but it is a reminder of where Flo was when her new life began: a concrete yard, a run, and a long way to go.
Saluki crosses are naturally lean dogs. Flo was far more than lean. She was starving, and her skin was in a terrible state.
Into RSPCA care at West Hatch
Flo was taken into the care of the RSPCA at West Hatch Animal Centre in Somerset.
There, the team began the slow work of helping her recover. A dog in Flo’s condition needs careful feeding, treatment for her skin and plenty of rest. Mange can be treated, but it takes time and patience for the sores to heal and the coat to grow back.
Just as important was helping Flo learn that people could be kind. For a dog from a puppy farm, the world outside can be strange and frightening.
Waiting for the right people
Recovery was only one part of Flo’s story. She also needed people who would give her a home.
For dogs like Flo, who have been through so much, finding the right match matters.
A new home
That match came in the form of Danielle Tuagalu and her partner, Rupert Forrester. They gave Flo a new home.
This was not a reunion. Flo was not going back to anyone from her past. She was going somewhere completely new, to people who had chosen her.
And she made herself at home very quickly. Danielle said: “Flo has settled in very well to our home.” She added that Flo “instantly claimed our largest couch”.
The biggest couch in the house
A photo of Flo now shows her stretched out on a sofa with cushions, indoors. It is the same dog, with the same saluki-cross coat and the same soft ears. But the skeletal, sore-covered dog on the concrete yard is gone.
In her place is a dog who knows exactly where the comfiest spot is, and who is not afraid to claim it.
For a dog who started life on a puppy farm, the largest couch in the house is a well-earned reward.
Why Flo’s story matters
Flo’s story is a reminder that puppy farms still exist, and that the dogs inside them can suffer badly. If you are looking for a dog, adopt from a rescue or buy only from a responsible breeder, and always see a puppy with its mother.
It is also a reminder of what care can do. With treatment, patience and the right home, a dog who was skin and bone can become a relaxed, happy companion.
From a puppy-farm yard to the biggest couch in the house. That is Flo’s journey.
Source and photos: Wales Online (Reach plc), March 2022; images credited to RSPCA.
Images in this article are illustrative recreations made for this story, not photographs of the dog.
