Mickey was our first dog – we were told that there was nothing wrong with this dog and all this dog needs is love. Come to find out he was severely abused. It blew my mind. Until then I didn't realize this (abuse) really existed. He had cigarette burns all over him. He was approximately 2 years old. He was sitting in the crate – curled up in a corner shaking – wouldn't come out of his crate. Matt and I knew we weren't going to have children so we thought we could give this dog a stable home. It all started with Mickey. The guy said just bring him home, give him some food, everything will be fine. Here it is four years later. If you were here for a few hours he would come over and start nudging you.

We actually found Bella on Pet Finder. A woman was driving around West Virginia rescuing dogs from kill shelters and then brought them to her house. Bella was a puppy; we know nothing about her. They said she was a beagle mix – which turned out to be false. According to the DNA she is a collie, sheltie, Boston terrier, mastiff mix. Bella will be four in November; we got her when she was about three months old.

Sophie definitely is a beagle. Sophie was a gift from our elderly neighbor. We had a beagle who died at age 16 and our neighbor wanted to thank us for a lot of things we had done for him. Sophie was one of his niece's dog's litter.