The last thing I wanted was a giant drooling mutt in my home. But this turned out to be no ordinary pooch. By Sheila Janes, 49
Looking across the harbour and out to the ocean, I sighed happily.
This is the life, I thought.
My husband Chris, 54, and I lived on a houseboat. We’d spent a happy summer on board along with his children Logan, 12, and Anya, 10, and my granddaughter Luna, eight.
Hearing footsteps, I turned round to see Chris making his way across the deck.
‘The kids are having a sulk,’ he said.
‘They’re just sad the pool’s closed,’ I said. ‘We need something to liven things up.’
So later that morning we all headed into town and I spotted a flyer for our local Humane Society.
They were offering a service where you could foster a dog.
‘Look at this,’ I said to Chris. ‘The kids would love it.’
'But you're not a dog person'
‘But you’re not a dog person,’ he replied, laughing.
It was true. But I loved the idea of giving a lonely animal a break from the kennels while they waited for their forever home.
So we went to check it out and were greeted by a chorus of woofs.
‘Take me!’ the 40 or so dogs seemed to be saying.
I’d been hoping for a small, short-haired doggy. But as we neared the end of the row, the kids spotted a pooch just standing there quietly.
A giant of a thing, he was a mass of fur and drool.
‘His name’s Moose,’ a staff member said. ‘He’s a Great Pyrenees.’
‘Please can we get him?’ Luna begged.
Looking round at my family’s excited faces, I knew there could only be one answer.
‘Yes, we can get Moose,’ I agreed.
He wagged his tail happily as if to say: ‘Right, decision, lady!’
There was a music festival happening that day, and while Chris went off to rehearse with the choir he conducted, the kids and I took Moose for a walk.
Everyone we passed wanted to pat him. And despite his size, Moose was so gentle with everybody, and seemed to ooze kindness.
‘We can’t let him go back to the kennels,’ I decided. ‘Moose deserves a forever home.’
So when it was time for Chris and his choir to perform, he stepped to the front of the stage.
‘This is Moose,’ he told the crowd, pointing at our furry companion. ‘He’s looking for a forever home. If you can help, please speak to my wife.’
Not long after, a woman approached me.
‘I have a similar dog,’ she said. ‘He and Moose would get along great.’
So I put her in contact with the kennel and as Jane couldn’t take him immediately, we agreed to keep him for one extra night.
'Get off the boat now!'
That evening, we led Moose to the houseboat.
‘Please can he sleep with us?’ Logan asked.
‘Oh, go on then,’ Chris agreed.
After lots of cuddles and scratches behind the ear, Moose went off to bed with the kids, and a couple of hours later Chris and I turned in too.
But in the early hours, Anya came into our bedroom.
‘I think Moose wants walkies,’ she said. ‘He just woke me up.’
‘I’ll walk him,’ Chris said, getting up, but moments later he came running back.
‘Fire!’ he shouted.
‘What?’ I asked, rubbing my eyes sleepily.
‘Fire! Get off the boat now!’ Chris said.
Leaping out of bed, I followed my family and Moose safely off the boat, as flames leapt out from the neighbouring houseboat.
Within minutes, the inferno reached our boat too, blazing through the kids’ bedroom.
All I could do was look on in shock.
We could’ve been killed, I thought, shuddering.
One of our friends had a house nearby, so we went there and watched from the balcony as firefighters fought to control the blaze.
In the end, they had to sink the neighbouring boat.
‘If it wasn’t for Moose, we wouldn’t be here,’ Chris said. ‘He must have smelt the flames and woke Anya.’
‘He saved our lives,’ I agreed.
Our community rallied round us and our neighbours — who’d thankfully been out when their boat had gone up in flames.
Jane heard about what happened and came to pick up Moose early.
Before he left, we showered him with hugs and kisses.
‘Thank you for saving us,’ Anya said.
Logan, Anya and Luna went to stay with relatives, while Chris and I moved into a motorhome.
We’d lost our possessions, but the most important thing was that we’d escaped unhurt.
Over the coming days, our community set up a GoFundMe for us, and our friends provided us with meals and anything else we needed.
Their generosity really touched me.
Sadly, Moose didn’t get on with Jane’s dog, but it wasn’t long before he found his forever home, with a farmer called Ciara.
Now he spends his days herding goats and running happily round fields.
Chris and I are still in our motorhome, and waiting to hear what caused the fire.
If it wasn’t for Moose, and the fact we had him that one extra night, our story might have ended very differently.
We fostered our hero hound for the weekend — but we’ll owe him for a lifetime.
He turned out to be a mutt in a million,
*Jane’s name has been changed