FOUR puppies who had a ‘ruff’ start in life are happy and healthy in their forever homes.

The tale of four poorly border terriers abandoned on a Dorset lane last January touched the hearts of many readers, but a year on and life is looking up for the siblings.

The puppies’ mother was also rescued in August when the charity who took in the abandoned terriers was alerted to a concern for her welfare. She was found in a garden, with no food, shelter or water, and it is understood the owners had gone away on holiday.

She has also now been rehomed.

Rachel Hayball, who works for Beaminster-based Hounds First Sighthound Rescue, adopted one of the puppies, Elvis, herself, while the other three, Honey, Lottie and Martha, went to homes across Dorset and Devon.

Rachel said it’s been a year of hard work and high vet bills, but the skin condition causing the puppies to have a low immune system has finally cleared up.

The terriers were found to have mange when they were taken in, and the condition also affected the mother.

Rachel said: “They were rehomed in April but we kept in close contact with the new owners as there were some ongoing issues with health.

“We nearly lost Elvis, it was really touch-and-go for a while and after that I thought, he’s not leaving me again, so I adopted him myself.”

Mange can have a knock-on effect on a dog’s immune system, Rachel added, so once this had cleared up, the dogs’ health improved. There are also no behavioural issues caused by their difficult start to life.

“Three are very confident now, which is thanks to the hard work put in by their new owners. It is incredible how far they have come. I was looking back at some photos the other day and I had actually forgotten what a bad state they were in," Rachel added.

The RSPCA investigated but there was not enough evidence to prosecute the former owners for abandoning the puppies, who were found on a lane leading into Thorncombe.

Rachel said she wanted to thank everyone who helped the puppies’ recovery.

It is rare for litters of puppies to be abandoned in Dorset, she added.