An adorable stray dog with a wonky nose has found his forever home after being rescued as a stray in Qatar. Now named Alan, the boxer-saluki mix, suffers from a facial deformity known as “wry mouth,” which causes his upper jaw to deviate to one side, giving his face a slightly wonky appearance. His owner, Johanna Handley, 43, has been inspired to write a new children’s novel based on Alan’s unique appearance and loving character.
The kind-natured pooch had a rough start in life, living on a building site in Doha, Qatar alongside his two parents and five siblings.
The family of dogs were initially looked after by a caring security guard, but the animals were soon left abandoned after the guard was told they could not remain on the site.
Ms Handley, originally from Godalming, Surrey but living in Doha at the time, was touched by the story of the stray pups and took them in.
Her sister later adopted one of Alan’s siblings and the rest of the family were moved to America through the National Greyhound Adoption Program charity.
While caring for the abandoned dogs, Ms Handley developed a particular soft spot for Alan, who later became a permanent member of her family.
She had been concerned that Alan would encounter difficulties in the rehoming process due to his facial deformity.
The unique rescue dog now resides in Île de Ré, an island off the west coast of France, with Ms Handley, her husband Dan Strutt and their ten year old daughter Darcy, alongside five other canine companions.
Ms Handley said: “He’s a completely lovely dog, really sweet, very calm and chill. He loves to run on the beach and he’s a total thief. He’d steal food out of your mouth.”
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