Sadie is a little dog who is often very scared and sad, but at times enjoy's having fun, love and happiness.
When she first arrived in the UK, she was completely shut down, and her body language reflected a life of pain.
This narrative was written initially for myself, firstly, so I could record Sadie’s progress, secondly it has helped to get out my, frustrations, sadness and emotions around Sadie’s plight.
Sadie’s' journey from that dark place and her courageous struggles towards trust love and happiness is an ongoing story of healing, heartbreak, endless patience, love, trust and understanding from both humans and herself and is only just beginning, the future is yet unknown. I have now decided to share it with anyone who is interested, who may find themselves in the same situation or can offer sound advice. But mainly to let people see why rescues like Rags to Riches exist and how we need help to continue with our work.
The Beginning of Sadie's Story
December 2025
Sadie was rescued from Brad public shelter in Romania one of the most notorious kill shelters, known for under-feeding, lack of veterinary care and cruelty. Sadie was, from reports, one of the worst affected of the group saved sometime in 2025. There is no knowledge of how Sadie ended up there. Sadie went to a rescue foster in Romania and was kept and looked after in a kennel and run with other rescues.
Sadie was one of many dogs desperately searching for a UK/European foster or adoption home, as the foster/rescue centre faced closure and their time there was running out. “These poor souls were yet again going to be being torn from the only place they knew that was as safe, and facing yet another unknown, uncertain future filled with fear and confusion.”
Rags to Riches was one of a number of rescues contacted for assistance because they were overwhelmed with the number of dogs they had taken from both Bard and Bretz public shelters. I said I would help and take on a couple of the smallest dogs, as did some of our other trustees/fosterers. I did stipulate only if they were under 5kg (I have a disability which means I am unable to lift or get down on the floor), here is the information we were given and was also advertised on Facebook about Sadie:
Little Sadie
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She’s 2 yrs just 27cm and 3kg
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Mini girl
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She’s very sweet and loving, very calm and gentle
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She’s also very quiet
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Good with fosters children
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Good with other dogs
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(not cat tested yet or on leash but will be)
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Fully vaccinated
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Neutered
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Will have all tests needed.
She sounded like a sweetheart. I was a bit concerned about the 'very quiet’, but I thought that after being in a public shelter, she'd naturally be cautious, but she sounded like she had become quite well adjusted whilst in the rescuers foster care, especially considering she was from Brad public shelter, she seemed perfect for fostering. With time to adjust to life in the UK, she would become a wonderful family pet for someone. Since she was so tiny, friendly with dogs and children (and I have several grandchildren who visit often), I volunteered to foster her. I also agreed to foster Missy another little one.
After a few vet visits where they received all vaccinations, were spayed, and had blood tests done, they were then transported to a holding centre in January and from there they were to start their journey, Sunday 25th January I was asked to pay the costs of travelling for all our dogs coming over Meli, Sadie, Fifi and Missy and Pike, (sadly Piki papers weren’t correct so he couldn’t travel with the others, but would leave on the next transport) and was informed they would be leaving tomorrow, Monday .
We expected a Messenger group to be set up for everyone receiving travelling dogs, and there were many of us, as two buses were involved. Monday came and went. Diane, a wonderful lady who coordinates everything voluntarily from the UK, said she was still waiting for photos and would share them as soon as she had them. We were told the group would begin once the dogs had left Romania.
By Tuesday morning, I was starting to worry. Once you know the dogs are on their way you feel a responsibility towards them , anxiety quickly takes over. This was a transport company we did not know and had not arranged ourselves, which was unusual for us, as our usual transporters are caring, reliable, and keep us updated throughout the journey. Later that afternoon, we received photos showing the dogs boarding the bus the previous day. Naturally, we assumed they had already been travelling for at least 24 hours, had left Romania, and that the group chat would begin soon. It never did.
By Wednesday, anxiety had turned to alarm. More than 30 fosterers and adopters were all trying to get information, including poor Diane, who had still heard nothing, but everyone was contacting. So many of us tried texts that were ignored, phone calls went unanswered, emails received no reply, and even Facebook messages to the transport company got no response. There was simply no communication. I could not sleep that night with worry, and I doubt I was the only one. Diane even had people calling the tracing unit at the tunnel to check whether the vans had arrived or passed through, but there was no news.
Late on Thursday morning, Diane told us they were only then setting off from Romania. She still had, been given no explanation as to where they had been or what had caused the delay. By then, it was day four, even though the journey to the UK border should take only 48 hours. A Messenger group was finally created on Thursday afternoon. Still no explanations of where they had been despite some of us asking. Friday and Saturday came and went, as we watched dogs being dropped off at various places and because the transport still had dogs to deliver to the north of Scotland, ours did not arrive until after 11 p.m. on Sunday. Whether they had really been on that van for seven days, we will never know. What we do know is that we will never use that transport company again.
They've arrived !
Sunday 1st February (11pm)
We rushed out and met the van; I was so eager to meet them, the driver first brought out Missy whom he placed in my arms, I cuddled her and talked softly to her. Then, the driver brought out a larger dog and handed her to my husband. I'm not sure exactly what I said, but it was something like "that's the wrong dog; Sadie is only tiny." "No," he replied, "this is Sadie," I again questioned him, he was adamant (it was dark and the only light was from the van) and looking at her face, she did resemble the pictures we had of Sadie. My husband and I exchanged glances as I was given the passports, and then he left. We brought them inside. Both were scared, shaking, and had a quite an unpleasant odour. We had prepared a nice-sized pen in our front hall for them with two comfortable beds, and I had also bought a small, warm, and cozy little house, thinking tiny Sadie would feel safe in it (hmmm). We offered them food, but by that time, Sadie had disappeared and somehow managed to get into the little house. We left them alone, and they both ate when we hid around the corner and soon fell fast asleep.
We then sat down, exhausted and still surprised and quite concerned by the size of our 'tiny foster’ hmm! and how we would manage.
Later, Missy would come out, and although scared, she engaged with us, and followed us around, we were quite shocked at how thin she was. Her hip and rib bones stuck out, it was quite shocking and painfully obvious she hadn't been properly fed for months, her coat was completely matted. Sadie hid in the little house and unfortunately would not allow Missy back into the pen.
