I recently was lucky enough to meet and photograph a lady who I can only describe as a personal hero, along with her incredible dogs: Maddie, Malina and Noah.

Claire, who is studying at the Open University, volunteers the rest of her time tirelessly as a fundraiser, rescue coordinator and animal rights activist to help animals of all kinds who are in need. However, she asserts that it is her dogs who rescue her every single day.

“I was 15 when I became unwell with a neuromuscular disease which affects the motor nerves in my lower half” she tells me. “I have no use of my legs. It was really hard going from a healthy teenager with a head full of dreams – I was going to go out into the world and volunteer with orangutans and the elephant orphanage, I had all these plans – to becoming so unwell.”

“I grew up with a dog, Nora Batty, and she was always there for me, she was there when I got ill…I lost her in 2009 and it was heart breaking. In the 6 years after that, I fell into such a deep dark place. Really suicidal, and I literally couldn’t face being alive - It was so painful. Coming to terms with losing my mobility, the grief involved with that was overwhelming. I fell apart and life, to me, wasn’t worth living. I literally gave up and as a result developed an eating disorder. I couldn’t look forward to anything at all.”

“And then as I was scrolling facebook one night, I think it was about three O’clock in the morning, I saw this picture of Maddie and instantly I just thought ‘wow’. For such a long time I had been really afraid of getting another dog. I couldn’t look at another dog without crying. I had been so close to Nora Batty.”

“But with Maddie, I think because she was a rescue…it was kind of an easier decision, because she needed saving. And at this point I used to spend every day in my bed, just with nothing to get up for, no motivation or anything.”

“It was quite spontaneous, I was so close to not being able to continue at all….so she literally did save me. We contacted the rescue and she came over [from Romania] and instantly, having someone else to take care of,  I think with her fragility and vulnerability, I could see so much of myself in her… and for me to see myself as helping that, instead of being so consumed by grief and sadness. And knowing that she needed me, it gave me a reason to get up in the morning…. [helping her] slowly overcome her fears, it made me feel like there was a reason for me to still be here.”

“So she became my focus. I still get really down, I’m still battling every day the grief of knowing I’ve lost a lot because of my disability, and there’s things I’ll never be able to do. But hand on heart, I wouldn’t be here without them, because they get me through.”

Claire tells me how adopting Maddie brought to her awareness the plight of other dogs in Romania. She began to fundraise for a dog named Korbu, who had had all his legs chopped off with an axe, eventually travelling to meet him at his shelter once he had his new prosthetics. That was just the beginning: She explains that they would take on one dog at a time, saving them from the kill shelters and working alongside rescue group German Shepherd Dog Rescue (GSDR) who assisted with rehoming.

“And that as well gave me a purpose. I really felt like I’d found something I could do. It was such a huge part of who I was, growing up and wanting to help animals, and I just found a new niche really, something that I could do.”

We laugh about the dog’s cheeky antics and the perils of fostering, of joining what’s known as ‘the failed foster club’, as she tells me the stories of Malina and Noah joining the family. These two arrived separately, and were really very traumatised, in need of special homes, which they happily found here with Claire.

“I can’t describe how rewarding it is to break that barrier, when they put that trust in me.” She says. “And the unconditional love they give. It’s so therapeutic, knowing I’m important to them. I don’t have a lot of confidence and I don’t have a lot of self-worth. I think that’s just part and parcel of becoming disabled: you feel useless in so many ways. Knowing they need me gives me a focus.”

“There isn’t one day where the dogs aren’t completely devoted….they make me feel safe, they make me feel like I’m not alone. I have the best conversations with them!” She laughs.

“I think every dog is wonderful, but with the rescue dogs, there’s this connection, like this gratefulness that they really do feel thankful that you saved them from the life that they had before…the loyalty kind of goes up a notch with the trust they put into you…There are so many dogs out there that would make wonderful pets; I mean these are amazing with my nieces, so gentle. Knowing that they otherwise wouldn’t be here, it doesn’t bear thinking about.”

She tells me how she and her Mum now organise the rehoming themselves, and specialise in trauma cases, such as disabled dogs. Many other organisations won’t take these animals on, but Claire feels such a connection to them she refuses to leave them behind. Dogs such as Rex, who had been left to die at the side of the road with a broken back and one eye hanging out, but who now lives a full and happy life in Sheffield, thanks to their incredible fundraising efforts.

She tells me that she uses her frustration, and the pain she feels at seeing animals, “whether it be a dog, a cat, a cow, a pig, or a whale or dolphin”, mistreated, exploited or neglected, into a force for good. The fire in her belly that keeps her going and keeps her fighting injustice and saving lives. For the whole time we talk, we are surrounded by her beautiful animals: Maddie who never strays far from her side, Malina and Noah who wander in and out of the house, playing happily together, or moseying over for a sniff and a fuss; and Sadie, one of Claire’s 6 cats, who spends the entire interview climbing into my bag in search of the treats! I sit there and find myself in awe of them all: Claire with her story of courage and strength, and her little family, who despite having such difficult pasts, allow this total stranger to come into their garden and photograph them. I cannot help thinking what a credit they are to Claire and the patience and love that she’s given them.

Claire and her Mum, Sharon continue to rescue and rehome injured and abandoned animals from here and abroad, something they can only do with the help of others. They run regular online auctions and fundraisers. If you’d like to get involved or just have a look at the items for auction, please visit their facebook groups https://www.facebook.com/groups/251068452074157 and https://www.facebook.com/groups/240708709821027 to help their very worthy cause.