My name is Laura Walker and back in 2016 my boyfriend and I had just adopted our first dog. Silk was a dog meat trade rescue from Thailand, we wanted to adopt after having travelled around Asia the year before and seeing the plight of dogs abroad. To put it mildly we were not at all prepared for the challenges that we faced, and we went in to the adoption with very rose-tinted glasses on, and very little dog behaviour knowledge.
Just a month after her arrival we had another dog arrive from Cyprus called Aster. Note to anyone considering adopting a second dog, wait at least 6 months between! Aster was the total opposite, super easy, you would have thought she had only ever known life with us after just a week.
After a ‘challenging’ first six months, with so much learning about positive based behaviour training, and lots of tears and support, we had settled in to life as a family of 4. During this time I had been hit hard by the social media algorithms, and was seeing so many dogs from so many countries in need, and in such appalling conditions. Romania came up a lot.
I saw one post in particular where 30 dogs were due to be killed in a pound, unless sponsors could be found for each dog. I encouraged friends to sponsor and found 10 people willing to help. After helping to save those dogs I felt it was important to go and see the rescue that myself and my friends were now supporting. So I flew out to the small shelter in Romania.
My initial plan, after my boyfriend categorically said we couldn’t adopt any more dogs, was to offer up my marketing and photography skills, to advise the team at the shelter how they could better present the dogs looking for homes. On arrival at the shelter it was pretty clear that my plan of how to help just wasn’t enough.
They had so many dogs, so little funds, so few people helping, that everyday was a struggle just to care for them at the bare minimum. Another volunteer had gone out at the same time as me, her name was Jo, and we immediately bonded over a shared drive to help as many dogs as we could.
When I got back from that trip I decided I wanted to create an organisation to find homes for some of the dogs that I had met there and The Pack Project was born in July 2017. Jo joined relatively quickly, and so did trustees from various dog-related backgrounds.
Over the next few years we visiting other shelters and public pounds in Romania, and learned so much from the dogs we were adopting in to homes here. Seeing first hand how the dogs in Romania were treated, even climbing in to skip to pull a puppy that had been thrown in there out, really did make me so determined to help as much as we could.
Fast forward to 2026, when we’ll be celebrating our 9th year, and we now have over 1,400 dog and cat adoptees. With amazing adopters, including some big name celebrities such as Jade Thirlwall, Olivia Attwood and Rosie Marcel. We have visited Romanian shelters more than 20 times, assessed hundreds of dogs, rescued many from death in public pounds, made a short documentary with Rosie Marcel our ambassador, and have another one on the way! We have an incredible team, who are so dedicated to the charity, we wouldn’t be here without them.
The shelter that we have partnered with now for several years is incredible. As well as caring for the dogs to a very high standard, they have a brilliant free neuter programme and go out in to schools to try and change the mindset of future generations about dogs in Romania. Having been with them on missions for both it really is impressive to see.
As an organisation we pride ourselves on fully briefing and preparing our adopters for the challenges that they may face, ensuring that only science-based positive reward training is using to help our dogs adapt their new world and new life, and by helping educate our adopters on nutrition and the part that it plays in behaviour and mental health as well as the physical health of dogs. We can’t stress enough how the right mindset and right nutrition work hand in hand to support any dog, regardless of their background and do as much as we can to spread the word on this!
All of our adopters are required to feed a raw diet, with Paleo Ridge at the top of that list. Having fed my dogs on the Plus range for years I have seen first hand the benefits so feel confident recommending it to our adopters. I know this is starting to sound like an advert, but I promise I would never recommend a product I don’t fully support.
We have seen first hand how changing a dogs diet can massively impact their lives, both for the better and the worse. It has been proven time and time again to us that a diet that is not natural, that is full of preservatives and additives, can cause so many issues. By getting a natural, raw diet, alongside the right probiotics, and the right behavioural support and mindset, all dogs really can thrive.
If you are considering adding a new dog to your family please do get in touch with us, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook and find out more about us at www.thepackproject.org
