Scooby’s tail never stops wagging. Every morning, the 12-year-old dog bounds into the bedroom for a cuddle, rolls onto his back, and waits for belly rubs from his new family. You’d never guess that for most of his life, he was chained to the ground, starved, and left to rot on a smallholding in northern Portugal.
Today, thanks to British animal campaigner Eduardo Gonçalves, Scooby has swapped misery for massages and now enjoys long walks, soft beds, and playdates with doggy friends. His remarkable transformation has inspired Eduardo to launch a powerful new charity, Unchained Dog Rescue, to save other dogs like Scooby from lives of torment.
Eduardo, 57, from Gosport, Hampshire, said:
“Scooby is one of the happiest and friendliest dogs you’ll ever meet. His tail never stops wagging! You wouldn’t think he had been abused so badly to look at him now.”
Scooby’s ordeal began on a remote property near Porto, where he was discovered emaciated, covered in mange, and eating little more than dried fish bones. Volunteers from a local animal welfare group begged his owners to surrender him – a plea that fell on deaf ears for 18 long months.
When the owners finally relented, Eduardo stepped in to help, arranging for Scooby to be transported to a sanctuary run by British couple Peter Singh, 55, and Jean Magill, 63. Their refuge in Portugal is unlike any other – a place where traumatised dogs live as a family, not in kennels, and even act as “therapy dogs” for one another.
“When Scooby arrived in his crate, one of the dogs, Dave – or ‘Dogtor Dave’ as we call him – went and lay down beside him. They sat nose-to-nose for hours,” Eduardo said.
“It was the first time Scooby had ever been comforted by another living being.”
Soon, Scooby was running free for the first time in his life, galloping joyfully around the sanctuary as if making up for lost years.
“It was bittersweet,” said Eduardo. “He’d been chained up for 12 years, but now he was finally discovering the simple joy of running.”
After a month of rehabilitation, Scooby was well enough to move in with Eduardo and wife Marisa, 58. Now he has his own bed in the lounge – though the couple say he prefers rotating between the sofa and armchair “like Goldilocks” – and enjoys visits from Peter and Jean, the first people ever to show him kindness.
There was an early scare when vets discovered a large tumour on Scooby’s leg. Thankfully, it proved benign, and he has since made a full recovery.
Eduardo, who founded the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, is no stranger to fighting for animals. A former WWF consultant, he once ran an undercover investigation exposing illegal dogfighting across Britain – work that helped push the maximum sentence for animal cruelty from six months to five years in prison.
Now, through Unchained Dog Rescue, he hopes to end the silent suffering of dogs like Scooby who are left tethered for life. The group’s first campaign – All I Want This Xmas Is Freedom – launches this winter to raise funds and awareness for chained dogs across Europe.
The charity already has high-profile backing from Downton Abbey actor and animal welfare champion Peter Egan, and celebrity vet Dr Marc Abraham OBE. Both are patrons of the International Animal Welfare Coalition’s campaign to stop the slaughter of three million dogs ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which is due to be hosted jointly by Spain and Portugal – where Scooby was rescued.
“Scooby has been through so much, but he’s still full of love,” Eduardo said. “Every day now is a bucket-list day for him, and we want to make sure more dogs get that same chance at happiness.
“We’re so pleased that Scooby has happily accepted his new role as campaign ambassador.”
To find out more about Unchained Dog Rescue, visit: https://www.unchaineddogrescue.org/