As pet parents, our fur kids always come first. There are no doubts about it.
At the age of sixteen, Liz Haslam met her husband, Mike.
She fell in love right away, and the couple married after she graduated from high school. They were soulmates, she was certain.
Following the wedding, the couple settled into a two-bedroom home in Barnham, Suffolk, alongside a sizable rural garden, and started a new life in the English countryside.
Ollie is the child of the couple. The couple has been married for over 25 years.
Where did everything go wrong, then? As it happened, Liz started saving dogs during their marriage. Liz came to the conclusion that she had enough space in their new house to launch a very personal venture: Beds for Bullies.
In reality, her company was a foundation dedicated to giving homeless bull terriers a place to stay. For Liz, it was quite personal because she came from a family where her father ran an animal feed business and her mother kept West Highland Terriers.
As a child, she naturally fell in love with dogs.
Liz’s husband Mike eventually started to feel overwhelmed by her labor of love. He believed that their relationship dynamic had shifted and that the focus was now entirely on the rescue dogs, many of whom had behavioral or medical problems that made it difficult for them to find forever homes.
Mike confronted Liz, growing more and more frustrated with the rescue that took up space in their house.
The couple decided to end their relationship since it was evident that, even after 25 years, their objectives were no longer in sync.
According to Liz, “We drifted apart.” He didn’t give me a chance because he was so preoccupied with his job. I sought solace in my pets, who showed me love, because I didn’t want to be the wife of a workaholic.
Consequently, Mike’s needs were subordinated to those of her thirty dogs.
Since the split, Liz has been taking good care of her rescues, each of whom needs varying amounts of attention, medicine, and love. Liz would frequently spend eighteen hours a day caring for them due to the demanding nature of her work, not to mention the hundreds of dollars she spent on medical treatment.
With 200 canines and counting, Bully beds were in operation. Contributions and a small business that housed pets while the owners were out from town provided the funding. Liz’s love for dogs was so great that she ended up with an almost $4,500 vet bill, which prompted her to temporarily move into a tent after she was unable to pay her rent.
Liz declared that she was completely happy despite the difficulty, saying, “I’ve chosen to do this, and I love it.”
Liz currently looks after thirty dogs, many of whom require medical care. She claims that she is really content with her life.
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