Remember Boss? The 12-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier was surrendered to our Lonsdale shelter last year in unfathomable pain.​

Discomfort was unfortunately Boss’ best friend; unable to open his eyes, Boss was suffering from a condition called entropion, where both his eyelids rolled inwards.​

Imagine what it’s like having an eyelash stuck in your eye – that’s what it felt like for Boss, constantly. ​

And that wasn’t all – Boss had two sore skin cancers and a dental disease that worsened.​

Boss didn’t have to cry in pain: his body language told us how much discomfort he was in.

That is, until an overwhelming amount of support and generous donations came flowing in from our wonderful supporters, funding surgery that changed Boss’ life.

Thanks to you, Boss is given a second chance​

Incredibly, over $1,500 was raised to cover the costs of Boss’ treatment.

Our veterinary team closely attended to Boss’ entropion, however, they soon discovered that Boss required more treatment than anticipated.

Boss’ skin cancers were removed, and due to his dental disease, the brave boy needed further treatment to remove multiple teeth.​

But, thanks to the kindness of so many who were touched by his story, Boss was given an amazing second chance – one where he could recover from injury and get a head start on his remaining golden years of life.

Then along came Tori.

Gorgeous eyes and an incredibly infectious smile steal the hearts of Boss’ new family​ every day

It wasn’t hard for Tori to fall in love with Boss.​

“I had seen Boss on the RSPCA website a couple of times and actually came down to the shelter to view another dog,” Tori says.

“He looked at me, cried out and I burst into tears … I just knew in that moment he was the one I was meant to take home.”​

Tori admits that she was sceptical at first as she feared that Boss wouldn’t get along with her parents’ two Vizslas. But two months in, Boss can’t wait to go to Tori’s parents’ house to play with his sisters.​

It’s no secret that the older dogs in our care tend to wait a little longer to find their forever homes… but for Tori, adopting Boss at the age of nearly 12 came without any hesitation.​

“I wasn’t necessarily looking to adopt an older dog, but when I saw Boss, I just knew he was meant for me,” she tells us.​

“I felt that as an older dog, a lot of people would oversee him and people usually want younger dogs.

“Boss’ age does not bother me at all and he still acts like a younger pup,” Tori adds.​

And Boss is as loving as ever – when Tori’s at work, the darling old boy can’t wait for her return.​

“He loves nothing more than snuggling up on the couch with me when I get home,” Tori says.​

 ‘Without your generosity, Boss wouldn’t have been able to have a second chance at life’

Having never had a dog yet always wanted one in her family, Tori knew that Boss was the one from the get go.​

The moment the two locked eyes at the shelter, Tori has never felt more confident in her decision.​

“Really from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who donated so Boss could have his surgeries,” Tori says.​

“Without your generosity, Boss wouldn’t have been able to have a second chance at life,” she adds.​

It’s truly wonderful to see dogs like Boss given the life they deserve, and it’s all because of the support of our generous donors, and the compassion of people like Tori who choose to adopt, not shop.

Thank you Tori, and thank you to all our supporters.

From the bottom of our hearts, we’re so grateful to all our supporters who made Boss’ new life with Tori a reality. If you’d like to continue helping animals just like Boss, head over here to see our current emergency appeals.