A poodle rescued from a Chinese dog meat market is loving her new life in Wales and is now working in schools 6,000 miles away. Lovable pooch Lilibet faced being served up as dinner after she was put into a metal cage to be sold as meat.
But she was spotted by charity workers and spent 18 months being transported 6,000 miles before finding a home in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. New owner Michelle Taylor, 47, and solicitor husband Chris, 52, said Lilibet was one of a selection of dogs in the meat market rescued by charity Great Bulls of China.
School administrator Michelle said: “What these poor little dogs have to go through in the Chinese meat market is barbaric. Their suffering is unimaginable.
“These poor dogs are stacked up in cages one on top of the other. Sometimes they are starved and then fattened up before the festival.
“They are boiled and skinned alive. Some are torched and clubbed to death in front of other dogs still in cages witnessing it all and waiting for the same fate. A lot of these dogs have been stolen from their loving homes and sold on for just pennies.”
The annual Lychee and Dog Meat Festival held in Yulin, China, sees around 10,000 dogs devoured each yea. But Lilibet was rescued to be flown to Moscow to begin her journey through Europe but was stranded in Kyiv, Ukraine, when the conflict broke out.
She was then put into the back of a car and driven across Europe to Buckinghamshire where she met her new owners in February 2022. Michelle said: “When I first set eyes Lilibet her she didn’t look anything like a poodle.
“She had chronic ear infections, abscesses between her toes, her skin and fur was stained yellow and brown with urine, she was covered in dried faeces and she had a dreadful skin condition. But she sat next to me in the car on our drive home to I realised that she really is the loveliest, loveliest dog imaginable. I was close to tears with all the emotion of meeting her but she kept putting her head on my lap as if she was trying to comfort me.”
Michelle said Lilibet needed three grooms in her first week and it took 10 months for her to finally resemble a poodle. The couple paid an adoption fee of £1,200 before they finally met their pet two years after she was rescued.
She added: “She was so friendly and my son, Louie, eight, adores her. Even our Bedlington terrier, Duke, who has terrible anxiety loves her.
“The charity does incredible, tireless work and has no stautory funding – it’s all funded by donations. It cost £4,700 to transport Lilbet to the UK and save her life.”
Lilibet has now been trained as a therapy dog with Cariad so she can carry out visits to schools, hospitals, and therapy centres. Michelle said: “Because Lilibet is giving us so much joy and love each and every moment of the day we just wanted other people to be able to benefit from her as well.
“She amazes us every day. She loves the beach but waves scare her a little. She’s an absolute food monster and hoovers up her own Sunday dinner in minutes.
“We’ve even got matching stripy jumpers which my husband thinks is hilarious. I’m so proud that she has qualified as a therapy dog. When we visit the local hospital to visit patients their faces light up when they see her. She brings so much joy. She’s a truly wonderful dog.”
