Learning from Albi

Scruffy, deaf, and homeless, life on the streets is tough for young Albi. What could the future possibly hold for an abandoned Spanish Podenco puppy that has been hit by a car and can’t hear? Yet despite a traumatic start, Albi’s life changes when he is rescued, brought to the UK, and fostered by Lois Sinclair, founder of the rescue charity, Gracehounds, and a passionate dog lover who has shared her life and home with numerous canine companions. Before long, Lois and Albi’s lives become interwoven.

With Lois’s nursing background and Albi’s intuitive nature, the pair soon find themselves volunteering in the animal healthcare sector. Albi also develops a reputation as a transition dog, offering support to other dogs and their owners during times of loss.

But Albi is a free spirit. He also has health issues. And while his sensitive nature earns him many friends and admirers, there will be challenges ahead, including surgery. As Albi continues to enrich Lois’s life, questions remain. Albi may have found a forever home but can the love and hope which bind him and Lois sustain him? And does this unique animal have the strength to live the life that every dog deserves?

Lois Sinclair completed her nursing training in Edinburgh before working in Australia for six months. She then returned to Scotland to marry Colin and start a family. A year in Montreal followed before their growing clan settled in Midlothian where dogs became a part of the household.

Around 2002, Lois left nursing and joined her local veterinary practice as an untrained member of staff.

Through their charity, Gracehounds, she rescued 70 dogs. Lois also has had 14 dogs and 13 cats of her own and enjoys passing on the joy of animals to her three children and six grandchildren.