Dog owners consider their furry best friends their family, and when it comes to their wellbeing, they would never bargain or make compromises. The dog is a priority, of course.

Yet, one woman did something that many would find extreme- she ended her 25-year-long marriage to save her rescue dogs.

Liz and Mike Haslam met when she was 16, got married in 1991, after graduation, and lived in a two-bedroom house in the countryside in Barnham, Suffolk, United Kingdom for twenty-five years, together with their child, Ollie.

Liz started rescuing dogs during this time, as she was a passionate dog lover. Her father owned an animal feed company, while her mother raised West Highland Terriers.

She then started her own business, Beds for Bullies, where she sheltered terriers in need.

Her husband was not comfortable with the fact that their life revolved around the dogs, as they couldn’t find permanent homes for all of them. He then asked Liz to choose, “it’s either me or the dogs”, and this was the end of their marriage.

Liz said:

 “ Since that moment, I have neither seen nor heard from him. I thought that, after 25 years, he should’ve known that giving up dogs was not a part of my intentions, not at all. He knew from the moment we got married what I was all about. I don’t know what he expected.”

Liz explained that they started to drift apart, as she missed his love and attention while he was busy with work, and she dedicated to the dogs only.

Family portrait!
Liz Haslam with some of her bullies…
It’s only 5 but getting 5 to pose is hard enough!
❤🐶❤🐶❤🐶❤🐶 pic.twitter.com/21lU1fGAYq

— Bedsforbullies (@bedsforbullies) June 4, 2018

Nowadays, she takes care of 30 dogs, providing care, medication, and love, and she sometimes works 18 hours a day.

She explains:

“It is a very deliberating job, you can’t have a day off. I don’t sit down till 11:30 at night so you can’t just go on holiday. And I can’t just turn around and say I am not going to do it anymore, it is my responsibility, I took the dogs in I can’t just stop.”

She has spent thousands of dollars on her dogs, and at one point, she even ended up living in a tent because she was not able to pay the rent.

Yet, she remains determined to do it, and believes she has done the right choice, as her “passion for dogs was too huge for Mike.”

Her shelter, Beds for Bullies, relies mostly on donations, and on a small business that offers accommodations for pets when their owners go on vacation. She even receives puppies that have been rejected by other shelters.

Over the years, Liz has admitted more than 200 rescued dogs.

Sources:
www.cesarsway.com
brightside.me
www.boredpanda.com