Our tale of how one lucky pup flew all the way from China to find her forever home

We had four dogs already, so the way we see it, it was already a mad house! We have our senior rescue dachshund Pops, Our disabled wheelie pug, Puggy Smalls, our spicy meatball, YumYum and our rescue floof, Pomegranate.

They are a friendly, sociable pack who love other dogs, so that was never a concern for us and my husband Nick, and I are totally dog mad, so we figured one more isn’t going to tip the balance.

I’ve been a follower of the great work DMT dachshunds do for many years. An incredible charity dedicated to rescuing dog meat trade dachshunds in China and south Korea, bringing them safely to the UK for rehoming.

I was casually scrolling Instagram and that’s when I saw her on the @dmtdachshundsupportgroup feed, a tiny little 10-month-old red dachshund with huge ears called Ellis. We weren’t looking for another pooch as we were very content with our four, but something about this girl made my heart ache and I just had to apply for her.

Nick didn’t take much convincing and we were thrilled when we got a call to arrange an interview with the charity.

The initial call and home check obviously went well as we were selected to be Ellis’ forever home, and we were over the moon. Yes, I ugly cried!

This was in late September and her freedom flight from China to the UK was booked for the 25th of October all funded entirely by DMT dachshund s and their incredible supporters.

The days dragged by as we were so excited to welcome her into our family, but DMT dachshunds kept us updated every step of the way with frequent updates and photos. We were also given so much help and advice, so we felt very supported and ready for her arrival.

On the day of her flight, we anxiously tracked her progress as she travelled from China to Malaysia and then onto London Heathrow with two of her sisters who have also found forever homes in the UK.

She landed safe and sound at 6am but had a lengthy process in the animal centre where the three of them needed to be cleared by customs and have their paperwork checked. The amount of admin and effort put into this by the charity is astounding and we got the call to go collect her from the transport company around 2pm.

We raced there to collect her, which was around an hour from our home and seeing her little crate in that van made my heart burst. She’s travelled over 6000 miles to be here with us and seeing her sparkly little eyes light up when she saw us was a memory I’ll treasure forever.

Once in our car, I sat in the back with her and kept her in her crate as advised by the charity. I fed her some cooked chicken through the bars and kept telling her special and brave she was. I won’t lie, I had a lump in my throat the whole drive thinking about what she had been through and how different things could have been for her, but here she is about to meet her new pack and never feel hunger, fear, neglect or worry ever again.

When arriving home we let her straight out into the garden where she met the rest of the dog squad. They were thrilled to meet her I honestly don’t think it could have gone any better. Once she had a sniff around the garden, she followed the others into the house and was initiating play immediately. It was absolute confirmation that this was the perfect fit and she will be loved and protected at all costs!

I’ve been in touch frequently with DMT dachshunds since who offer concise and ongoing aftercare to ensure its all going smoothly. For us this has been remarkably easy, and I keep asking “is this too good to be true?” but I know in some instances there can be issues adapting and settling in, and there’s a behaviourist available to assist with this just in case.

Ellis’ new name is Brown Sugar, and she is incredible. She settled immediately and is so playful, fun and affectionate with the dogs and us humans! Although she gets along with all the dogs, YumYum is her favourite and they zoom around and play for hours. She is also very partial to a nap by the fire with Pops and seeing them curl up together is pure magic

She’s had her first vet check where she was given a clean bill of health, just a little skinny, but I’m sure we can fatten her up in no time with a specialist dietary plan and weight gaining supplements.

She’s snuggling in a nook on my lap as I write this and let me tell you my heart is full and it’s the best decision we ever made. We are so excited to see Sugar enjoying life as part of a loving family, and watching her run around the woods, try treats for the first time and meeting her extended friends and family has been the biggest blessing.

Christmas is going to be more special than ever this year with Sugar sprinkling some extra spice and cheekiness, and I promise she will be on Santa paws nice list forever more!

If you’re looking to welcome a new pooch into your home, then I strongly urge you to take a peek at the dogs looking for homes on DMT Dachshunds. If you’re also looking to support this amazing charity, donations are always welcome, visit their website to find out ways to contribute to getting more lucky pooches onto their freedom flights like my baby girl, Brown Sugar.