A dog who was saved from a life of fighting is continuing to love life in London with his new family after being successfully rehomed.
Cane corso Beau was one of several dogs rescued from Lincolnshire in 2017 as part of an RSPCA investigation into dog fighting. He was taken into private kennels before being moved to the charity’s Southridge Animal Centre, in Hertfordshire. The team there spent six months training and rehabilitating him before he was rehomed in 2020 to Caroline Moore and Mark Dorett (pictured), from Walthamstow.
Beau was only two-years-old when he was first rescued – but it’s believed he was being kept with a view to training him to fight. Now aged eight, he has flourished in his new home and loves spending time with people and his doggy friends.
Caroline said: “Beau is so loving and gentle; he’s a really beautiful soul. He is our baby, our pride and joy. We’re so proud of him and the dog he has become.”
The couple grew up with dogs but Beau was their first dog together.
Caroline added: “We love walking and decided we’d like to have a dog to join us on our walks, and we wanted to give an unwanted dog a home. We started to search and Mark stumbled across Beau in the Southridge kennels while he was looking around.
“When Beau brought his toy doughnut to the bars of the kennels for Mark he was absolutely smitten!
“I was worried about his size but we took him for a few walks and I fell in love with him as well. We met him several times and introduced him to Mark’s sons and my parents. He was so lovely with all of us that we were shocked when the team told us his back story.
“When we first brought Beau home we didn’t tell people that he’d been rescued from dog fighters; we didn’t want people to judge him or be frightened, and I was worried how he’d be, but he has such a lovely nature.”
Despite once looking set for a life spent fighting, Beau’s sweet nature means he’s a popular pooch with everyone he meets.
Caroline explained: “He is so good with children and he loves everyone we meet. Our neighbour was terrified of dogs but she’s completely fallen in love with Beau and now we always have to stop by her house so she can say hello to him when we go out for walks.
“My dad suffers from multiple sclerosis but he comes out of himself and is so much happier when Beau is around; we take him to visit him all the time.”
Beau was rescued alongside a number of other dogs by officers from the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit who were investigating organised dog fighting. Investigators found paraphernalia such as break sticks (used to break up a fight) as well as mobile phone content – including text messages, images and videos suggesting violent fights organised between dogs, some in which the dogs suffered severe injuries.
Caroline added: “Beau makes such a difference to our family; when I think what would have happened to him if he hadn’t been rescued by the RSPCA it breaks my heart. He is such a gentle giant and we love him to pieces.”
