George

This is my dog, George. I've never had a dog before, and for my first one, I pick the most intelligent and the fittest of all the breeds... Or so I am told!

He was a rescue dog, found by a girl in the local town. When she found him, he had a rope tied round his neck so tight that the vet had to cut it off. He had cigarette burns on his body. And the vet suspected that he had been beaten with a metal bar,as some of his ribs are out of place.

You'd think an animal like that would hate humans. And yet I've never met an animal that is so loving, so loyal, so keen to please in my life. He's absolutely brilliant. There doesn't seem to be a bad bone in his body.

I feel like a father with a new child who bores everyone to death with stories of their offspring's latest exploits or achievements, but I can honestly say he's changed my life. It's deeply humbling.

And he's just a dog!