“It’s me or the dogs.”
Liz Haslam’s husband of 25 years gave her an ultimatum. She had to choose between him or the dogs she cares for at her bull breed rescue.
For some it may have been a difficult decision, but not for Liz, 49.
“He’d got to the point where he’d had enough and wanted to slow down. But I wasn’t prepared to give it up. So he decided to go,” she told Express in 2018. “Obviously that was his choice.”
Dogs had always been a part of Liz’s life and she made sure her partner, Mike, was well aware of it. After the couple married and had a child, she began a boarding kennel business in Barnham, Suffolk, England.
But her new business called Beds for Bullies became overwhelming for Mike. While Liz fostered countless bull terriers who otherwise couldn’t find a home because they had a medical or behavioral issue, Mike took up an issue with his wife.
“I don’t know what he expected. He told me he was going and had sorted out some other accommodation so he packed his bags. Before we split up he kept saying ‘I do not want to be doing this, I want to get a passport and go away.’ I said that isn’t going to happen so we might as well go our separate ways, which we did.”
Caring for the dogs is a very “demanding” job and one that Liz wasn’t willing to give up. Not even for her husband.
“I don’t sit down till 11.30 at night so you can’t just go on holiday. And I can’t turn around and say I am not going to do it any more, it is my responsibility, I took the dogs in I can’t just stop.”
Even though her passion cost her a 25-year marriage, Liz said she has no regrets. She’s been able to re-home and care for numerous dogs that otherwise would not have stood a chance.
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