For 12 years, Scooby knew nothing but a chain, hunger, and neglect. Tethered to the ground on a smallholding in northern Portugal, he survived on scraps and endured years of suffering. Today, he is unrecognisable – a happy, playful companion whose tail never stops wagging, thanks to the efforts of animal campaigner Eduardo Gonçalves.
Eduardo, from Gosport, Hampshire, rescued the 12-year-old dog and brought him to safety, where he now lives a life filled with comfort, affection, and long countryside walks.
“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,” Eduardo said.
Scooby’s rescue has inspired Eduardo to launch a new charity, Unchained Dog Rescue, which aims to save other dogs like him from lifelong tethering and neglect.
Scooby’s ordeal began near Porto, where he was found emaciated, covered in mange, and living off dried fish bones. Volunteers from a local animal welfare group spent 18 months pleading with his owners to release him. When they finally agreed, Eduardo arranged for Scooby to be taken to a sanctuary in Portugal run by British couple Peter Singh and Jean Magill, 63.
“Their refuge is unlike any other, a place where traumatised dogs live together as a family rather than in kennels,” Eduardo said. “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. It was the first time Scooby had ever been comforted by another living being.”
At the sanctuary, Scooby experienced freedom for the first time, running and playing as if making up for lost time. After a month of rehabilitation, he joined Eduardo and his wife Marisa, 58, at their home in Hampshire. “He has his own bed in the lounge but prefers rotating between the sofa and armchair like Goldilocks,” Eduardo said.
Not long after his rescue, vets discovered a large tumour on Scooby’s leg, but it was later found to be benign, and he has since made a full recovery.
Eduardo, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and a former WWF consultant, has long fought for animal welfare. His undercover investigation into illegal dogfighting in Britain helped lead to tougher animal cruelty sentences, increased from six months to five years. Through Unchained Dog Rescue, he now hopes to end the suffering of dogs forced to live their entire lives on chains.
“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.”
