This retired northern couple have fostered a dog who only has months to live
Helen and John Brierley welcomed 10-year-old Boxer Mastiff cross Sugar into their home so she can spend her final days in comfort with "unconditional love".
A retired northern couple have explained their decision to foster a dog who only has a few months left to live.
10-year-old Boxer Mastiff cross Sugar has an inoperable, cancerous tumour growing on one of her anal glands that could eventually stop her from going to the toilet, which has meant that she had sadly been constantly overlooked at an Oldham-based rescue centre before being taken in by the kind-hearted couple.
Helen and John Brierley, both aged 64, welcomed Sugar into their West Yorkshire home so she can spend her final days in comfort with “unconditional love”.
Speaking on their decision to give Sugar the best farewell possible, Helen – a part-time carer – told TeamDogs: “My partner and I are now semi-retired, so we took on a boxer four years ago who was a senior rescue dog called Charlie and was lovely company – she became part of the family.
“When we had to put her down, John and I were absolutely devastated, and we said we wouldn’t have another dog.
“But when I saw Sugar on Pennine Pen Animal Rescue’s website, she just looked like Charlie.”
Helen continued: “Initially, we thought it’d be a no-go to foster her because we had two guinea pigs in the house, but she appeared not to be bothered by them at all.
“Her condition might be a bad thing to many people.
“But for us, we saw the bit of life that’s still in her, and we wanted to give her a chance.”
Credit: Helen Brierley
The couple explained that Sugar has taken everything in her stride and found herself very comfortable in the house, which has allowed Helen and Jon to provide her with the palliative care she needed.
“Originally, we thought that if it’s only a short term foster, then we might not get too attached to Sugar,” Helen said.
“But it’s not working as we thought and we are now very attached to her.
“She’s a lovely surprise in many ways. She’s great on the lead and enjoys a short walk. She’s not aggressive to other dogs, which is completely unlike Charlie, who was a puller.”
Staff at Pennine Pen Animal Rescue said Sugar stayed with the rescue for six weeks but “didn’t have much interest at all” before they sent out an appeal on Facebook and Helen and Jon were found to be suitable.
The rescue centre later announced the heart-warming news of Sugar finally finding a foster home on its Facebook Page to endless praise for Helen and Jon.
Featured Image – Helen Brierley
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Everton are reportedly already hoping to sign Jack Grealish from Manchester City permanently
Danny Jones
Everton FC are reportedly already considering signing Jack Grealish on a permanent deal after an impressive start to his spell on loan from Manchester City.
The former Aston Villa talisman has struggled to remain in the starting XI under Pep Guardiola since joining the club in 2021, but since arriving on Merseyside, he’s already been a difference-maker in every match for the Toffees thus far.
Grealish has not only registered four assists in just two starts for Everton but also won the very first player of the month award in the Premier League this season for his contributions.
Safe to say he’s fast made a big impact over in Liverpool – hence why it is now thought that manager David Moyes wants to make his transfer permanent.
Becoming just the 10th Toffee to ever win the accolade, the Birmingham-born creator is now thought to be the primary transfer target, despite the summer window having only recently closed.
He writes that despite the deal between Everton and Man City already including a £50 million option to buy next summer, that number is “not fixed and is more a consequence of accounting than a set price.”
The England international still has two years on his contract in the blue half of Manchester, but the previous valuation (which is half the amount City paid for him in a then record fee for a British player), so it is believed that he could be signed for an even better cut-price offer as his deal runs down.
Put it this way, it looks like the supporters would do just about anything to keep him at the Hill Dickinson.
Jack Grealish giving his shirt to an Everton fan after their brilliant win away at Wolves today.
Bascombe goes on to explain, however, that his salary considerations could be a significant obstacle. Grealish is estimated to be earning approximately £12m a year, which is almost certainly too rich for Everton’s blood.
Taking that into account, it’d be a case of whether or not the Brummy forward would be willing to accept a much lower wage to depart the Etihad Stadium for Everton long-term; alternatively, waiting for him to become a free agent in a few transfer windows’ time would also be an option.
What about you, Blues: would you like to see Jack Grealish stay and fight for his place under Guardiola, or would you understand/support him making his Everton permanent?
Interestingly, there could be yet more shuffling of the pack in the middle of the park for Pep, as a forgotten man is apparently going to be given another chance to revive his City career…
Kalvin Phillips is reportedly set to be reintegrated into the Manchester City squad
Danny Jones
Long-exiled Manchester City player Kalvin Phillips is reportedly on the verge of being reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad this season.
The ex-Leeds United star, who signed for the Blues back in 2022, has still only made just 16 appearances for the club, but could now be eyeing up a potential renaissance.
Man City have made plenty of signings this year, but with a number of outgoings and several injuries in key positions, it looks like there could be an avenue for the one-time England international to fight his way back into the team.
As per Telegraph Sport‘s Mike McGrath, Kalvin Phillips is set to be reintroduced to City’s 25-man Premier League selection; the question is, can he make it into a first-team XI?
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Kalvin Phillips has chance to resurrect career at the Etihad Stadium after failed loan spells with Ipswich and West Ham
According to McGrath, Phillips will be “given a chance to resurrect his career at the Etihad Stadium” with the meat and potatoes of the 2025/26 campaign still yet to get properly underway.
Now 29, the Yorkshireman is well and truly within the crucial ‘prime’ years as an athlete, and after such an extended period on the sidelines, he’ll be more motivated than anyone to get his career back on track.
The central defensive midfielder – who was formerly considered a key cog in the middle of the park for Leeds – has spent two loan spells away from the Etihad, but neither really worked out for the undeniably talented footballer.
Having joined West Ham for the latter portion of the 23/24 term and spending the last 12 months on loan at struggling Ipswich Town, his time at both clubs was pretty forgettable, punctuated by little more than a couple of unfortunate red cards and more time on the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports fairly recently, he confessed that the last couple of years have been very difficult and was visibly emotional discussing his struggles since moving to Man City.
It’s also worth noting that Guardiola himself has admitted to feeling “so bad” for Kalvin Phillips’ situation – perhaps why he now looks like he could be given a second chance.
CDM-wise, Rodri and Nico González are considered the go-to options, but Stockport-born Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovačić have also been used in the role.
Once again, although Man City face somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, any prolonged absences could at least see an opportunity arise for the forgotten man.
What do you make of Kalvin Phillips’ chances of being restored to the Manchester City squad and maybe even putting himself back into national team contention ahead of the World Cup?
Emily Sergeant -
17th September 2021 
