Heroic puppy who cheated death when found on rubbish tip is up for bravery award for saving owner’s life

A heroic puppy who cheated death when he was found abandoned on a rubbish tip could win a bravery award after saving his owner’s life. 

Mouse, a white lurcher, was just six weeks old when he was discovered fighting for his life after swallowing plastic netting. 

Vets feared he would die and they had arranged to have him put down – but the puppy refused to give up. 

He made an extraordinary recovery after being looked after by his owner, former veterinary nurse Tracey Ison. 

Mouse is now tipped to win a bravery award after saving her life when he confronted a violent thug who randomly threatened and began shoving Ms Ison’s husband when the couple went out for a walk.

The lurcher had been terrified of strangers since he was saved but stood between the man and his owners, barking furiously until the aggressor backed off.

The thug then threatened to return with a baseball bat, prompting the family to flee.

Ms Ison, 56, from Hinckley, Leicestershire, said: ‘Mouse was frightened too. He has always been nervous around strangers, and the man’s behaviour terrified him.

‘But instead of retreating, our skinny, clumsy young puppy put himself between us and the stranger. Mouse barked and barked until eventually the man backed away. 

‘What has always stayed with me is that Mouse wasn’t fearless that day. He was scared. And he still stood in front of us.’

Mouse has now been shortlisted for a Burns Bravery Award at a glitzy bash hosted by Strictly Come Dancing icon Karen Hauer and launched by healthy dog food firm Burns Pet Nutrition.

Brave dogs and their owners from across the country will be attending the event at the Woolwich Works in London on Tuesday, November 3.

But Mouse’s extraordinary bravery wasn’t the only way he helped Ms Ison.

She credits him with helping her overcome a devastating mental health crisis that had left her struggling to rebuild her life after walking away from a 25-year career as a veterinary nurse.

His remarkable story began in May 2019 when he and his two sisters, Demi and Twiggy, were discovered abandoned on a rubbish dump at Billing Aquadrome, Northamptonshire.

The puppies were believed to be around six weeks old and all three were desperately unwell. 

However Mouse cheated death after he recovered from swallowing the plastic netting.

The woman who initially found the puppies took them home, but Mouse was kept separately in a cat carrier where he spent a prolonged period lying in his own waste.

Eventually, the trio were handed over to East Midlands Dog Rescue in Enderby, Leicestershire, where Mouse’s condition sparked immediate concern.

He was rushed to the vets, where blood tests, X-rays and exploratory surgery revealed he had swallowed orange plastic netting.

Surgeons removed the obstruction but the desperately ill puppy failed to improve.

He refused to eat or drink and became so weak he needed intravenous fluids to keep him alive.

Vets considered fitting a feeding tube but feared he was too frail to survive the procedure.

With little hope left, Mouse was returned to the rescue centre so he could spend what were expected to be his final days somewhere safe and loved.

Ms Ison recalled: ‘I will never forget something Sandy, the founder of East Midlands Dog Rescue, said during those days.

‘If this was going to be Mouse’s last day on earth, she wanted him to feel the sun on his back.’

Several appointments were arranged for Mouse to be put to sleep, but each time his rescuers hesitated.

Ms Ison said: ‘There was something in his eyes that seemed to say he hadn’t finished fighting.’

It was around this time that Ms Ison, who had recently quit her career after suffering severe burnout, began volunteering at the rescue centre.

She had worked as a veterinary nurse for around 25 years, but years of workplace stress, bullying and compassion fatigue had taken a devastating toll on her mental health.

Eventually, she reached breaking point and walked away from the profession she loved.

Ms Ison said: ‘It wasn’t simply my job; caring for animals had been an enormous part of my identity.

‘But after changes at the veterinary practice where I had spent much of my career, the working environment became incredibly stressful.

‘Combined with bullying and years of compassion fatigue, I became completely burnt out.

‘Eventually, I reached the point where I simply couldn’t carry on. I walked away. It broke my heart.

‘I had spent decades nursing animals, yet by the time I left I had lost almost all confidence in my own abilities.

‘I found myself in a very dark place, wondering what was left of the person I had once been.’

Hoping to rebuild her confidence, Ms Ison began volunteering at East Midlands Dog Rescue, where she had worked closely with staff for many years.

She started cleaning kennels, looking after the animals and rediscovering the simple pleasure of caring for dogs who asked nothing of her other than kindness. 

Then she met Mouse. Ms Ison said: ‘There was something about this tiny, desperately frail puppy that touched my heart.

‘He had already had the investigations and the surgery. There was very little more medicine could do for him at that stage.

‘What Mouse needed was nursing. And nursing was something I knew how to do.’

Ms Ison began helping administer his medication and spent hours sitting beside him, willing him to survive. But day after day, the tiny puppy continued refusing food and water.

Then, after around eight days without eating or drinking voluntarily, something extraordinary happened. Mouse lowered his head and took a few tiny laps of water.

Ms Ison said: ‘It sounds like such a small thing. To us, it was enormous.

‘Those few laps of water were the first moment I truly allowed myself to believe that Mouse might survive.’

As his condition slowly improved, Ms Ison and her husband took Mouse home to foster him.

He needed regular feeding, medication, physiotherapy and months of painstaking rehabilitation to rebuild his wasted muscles.

But while Mouse was slowly recovering, Tracey noticed something remarkable happening to her too.

She said: ‘I was using my nursing skills again. Skills I had spent years believing in, then somehow became convinced I had lost.

‘Every medication I gave him, every gentle physio session and every tiny bit of progress reminded me that I could still do this.

‘I could still nurse. I could still care for an animal who needed me. Mouse was getting stronger – and so was I.’

The couple officially adopted Mouse on July 26, 2019 but his two sisters, Demi and Twiggy, passed away.

Mouse had initially been considered the sickest of the three puppies, and rescuers had hoped that if he could pull through, his sisters would too.

Although Mouse eventually regained his physical strength, his traumatic start in life had left deep psychological scars.

He became fiercely protective of his food and resting places, reacted aggressively towards other dogs and was terrified of strangers.

Ms Ison and her husband spent years patiently helping him overcome his fears but it was during a walk around their local area, when Mouse was aged between six and nine months, that the family discovered just how brave their rescue puppy could be.

Tracey and her husband were walking Mouse alongside their other rescue dogs, Sparky and Scout, who is blind, when they were confronted by an angry stranger.

The man, who was walking a small dog, began shouting abuse at the couple for reasons they couldn’t understand.

He then approached them and started pushing Ms Ison’s husband. Scout became frightened and started barking, while Mouse was visibly terrified.

But instead of running away, the young lurcher planted himself between his owners and the stranger.

Despite his fear, Mouse barked repeatedly until the man eventually backed off. The stranger then threatened to return with a baseball bat, prompting the family to flee.

Ms Ison said: ‘The man then bizarrely told us to stay where we were while he went home to get a baseball bat. Needless to say, we didn’t wait.

‘To me, that is what courage really is. It isn’t the absence of fear. Sometimes it is being frightened and choosing to stand your ground for someone you love anyway.’

Seven years after he was found abandoned and close to death, Mouse is now enjoying a happy life with the family who refused to give up on him.

Although he remains wary of strangers, he has made enormous progress with his behavioural difficulties.

He can now walk past most dogs without reacting and has even made a handful of canine friends.

And, while he still takes time to trust unfamiliar people, those who earn his affection are rewarded with a fiercely loyal companion.

Ms Ison said: ‘Life with Mouse has never been easy. We knew from the beginning that it probably wouldn’t be.

‘But we also made a promise to him: whatever happened, Mouse would always be safe with us.’

These days, Mouse loves going for walks, watching squirrels through the window and snoozing in his favourite bed in the sunshine.

Ms Ison said: ‘Mouse is sweet, loving and an absolute goofball. Sometimes I look at him and think about that tiny puppy who wasn’t expected to make it.

‘I think about the days when he couldn’t eat or drink. I think about Sandy wanting him to feel the sun on his back because nobody knew whether it might be his last day.

‘And then I look at him now. Seven years of sunshine. Seven years of walks, squirrel watching, friendships, mischief and love that we very nearly didn’t get to have.’

Mouse is now among the entrants in the Burns Bravery Awards, which recognise the extraordinary courage of Britain’s dogs.

And for Ms Ison, who credits the little lurcher with helping her rebuild her life, there could be no more deserving winner.

She said: ‘People might say that we rescued Mouse, but that has never felt like the whole story to me.

‘When I met him, I had lost my confidence, my career and a huge part of my sense of who I was.

‘Mouse needed someone to believe he could recover, and I needed something that reminded me I still had something valuable to give.

‘We found each other when we were both struggling. I helped Mouse learn how to become strong again.

‘And somewhere along the way, he did exactly the same for me. Our Mouse is a survivor, a fighter and, to us, a hero. In finding his courage, Mouse gave me mine.’