Puppy No One Wanted
Barby Keel is used to all manner of creatures arriving at the door of the Barby Keel Animal Sanctuary where she lives and works, deep within the Sussex countryside. Nothing can prepare her for the arrival of Teddy, however, a neglected, traumatised puppy who is dumped at the gates of the sanctuary in a filthy box, terrified and desperate for someone to love.
Despite his scruffy appearance, Barby can't help but feel a spark of affection for the overgrown puppy. But with Barby living in a caravan along with her four other dogs, she knows in her heart of hearts that Teddy deserves a more stable forever home.
Wiping away tears, she waves Teddy away to his new life with a young couple, knowing that she's done what's best for the animal. But barely a few days later, Teddy is returned to the sanctuary, his new family unable to cope with his boisterous behaviour and his ever-growing size. Barby tries desperately to re-home him, but Teddy is rejected over and over again by his new foster families. Anxious and terrified of being separated from her, Barby is now faced with the impossible task of working through the traumas of Teddy's past to help the young dog.
But when she receives the devastating news that her beloved younger brother has received a shocking diagnosis, Barby's life as she knows it is thrown into disarray.
Can the love of a gentle giant help Barby through the unimaginable? And will Barby's unwavering devotion set Teddy free from the suffering he has endured?
Barby Keel has run an animal sanctuary in the countryside in Sussex for 54 years. At the age of 28 Barby bought four acres of land for £1400, built her own home brick by brick, and then dedicated her life to caring for the animals who were often dumped at her door.
Barby is working with Cathryn Kemp, Sunday Times bestselling writer, award-winning author and a former journalist. She has written across the spectrum of the British press, both tabloid and broadsheet, and online, and for many magazines. In 2002 she won the Peter Wilson Award for Journalism before running her own press agency writing for radio and television. She is the author of Coming Clean: Diary of a Painkiller Addict, published by Piatkus in 2012, which won the Big Red Read Prize for non-fiction in 2013. Cathryn has written seven other titles, including Jam Butties and a Pan of Scouse, We Ain't Got No Drink, Pa and A Fish Supper and a Chippy Smile.