Our story

For over 15 years, I have visited Jamaica for holidays, always captivated by the island's beauty and the warmth of its people. But over time, I began to notice something that stayed with me long after I returned home. In many areas, poverty has created heartbreaking conditions for both people and animals. Dogs are often left to suffer without food, medical care, or even kindness. Some are neglected. Others are abused. Many are simply forgotten.

During one visit, I came face to face with this reality, and it changed my life forever. While on an e-bike tour through a remote hillside area, I passed a run-down shack. Outside, two tiny puppies were tied to a tree, their ribs showing. A third dog, a little brown one, wandered nearby — thin, weak, and clearly suffering. He followed me for the rest of the tour.

Back at my hotel, I could not eat. All I could think about were those dogs. The next day I brought food and water back to them, and the day after that. But I knew it was not enough. I had to do more.

When I returned to the UK, I could not stop thinking about them. So I booked a flight back, determined to rescue the puppies. But when I arrived, I was too late. The owner had moved away and taken them with her. The little brown dog, the one who had followed me, had been left behind. Local residents said he had curled up and died, just days before I returned. He could have been saved with just a little care.

Nearby, a small community welcomed me. They had four dogs, covered in ticks and with no access to medical care. For three days I returned with food, medicine, and supplies. On my way back, a tiny dog — nothing but skin and bones — was lying on the sidewalk, collapsed from exhaustion. She was very young and very sick. I rushed her to an emergency veterinary clinic, where she began treatment right away, and not long after she was brought safely to the UK.

I named her Hope. She survived, and she became the inspiration for FurEver Hope — the charity we founded to give Jamaican street dogs a second chance at life. Today, Hope is healthy and thriving. Her story is just the beginning.