Millionaire pets – Logan the rescued dog

Former hair salon owner Susan Herdman won £1.1MMillion in January 2010. She lives with her partner Andrew in North Yorkshire. When Susan volunteered at an animal rescue sanctuary in Ireland, a tiny puppy with thee-and-a-half legs melted her heart. Here Susan tells the story of Logan.

"I will never forget the first time I saw Logan because it was love at first sight. As a volunteer helping out at the Animal Heaven Rescue Centre in Castle Island, I was asked to clean a stable which held some puppies.

Cuddles

Logan was at the back of the stable and as I leant down, he tried to climb onto my lap. I picked him up and he stared up at me as if he could see right into my soul. Then he tucked his head under my chin and gave a deep, contented sigh. I was just in pieces.

Over the next two days I kept going back to the stable for cuddles. The lady who rescued him found him at a cage in an animal fair and sale. When she asked about him, she was told he was going to be drowned because he only had half a front leg. I asked if I could adopt Logan, and take him home to join my four-year-old chocolate lab Senna. When they said yes, it was like winning the Lottery again.

I returned home, and met Logan the following week when the rescue centre had a delivery to Birmingham. Logan was handed to me and when he saw me again he went mad with joy. I took him home and Senna wasn’t happy about the new arrival for three weeks. But then one day I found them curled together, fast asleep – with Logan lying on Senna’s back. He had won her over – just as he does with everyone else.

A new life

Logan’s happiness is infectious. His favourite food is chicken and I spoil him rotten. He travels the country with us in a luxury motorhome. The Lottery allowed me to volunteer for the shelter, and bought Logan and I together. I would never have been able to have him if I still worked full time as the owner of a hair salon. It gave me a new life – and Logan a complete new chance at life.

I thought I might pay for him to have a prosthetic front leg built, so he could run on four legs again. I sent X-rays to the TV Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick, along with a video of Logan walking. But Noel got back to us and said the deformity was too far up the shoulder for a false leg to work. He said Logan was managing fine on the legs he had.

Watching him race around on his three legs shows me what a great spirit he has – a little dog with a huge heart.”