Roxy's Story: The Rescue Dog Behind SolaPup

She came to us with hours to live.

Roxy was a French Mastiff — a Dogue de Bordeaux — rescued from a puppy mill when she was already in a critical state. My husband Simon and I have been rescuing large and bull breed dogs for over 35 years, many with serious health and behaviour histories, and we’ve seen a lot. But Roxy was something else.

What followed were some of the most intense, exhausting, and unexpectedly beautiful years of our lives.

The Dog Who Changed Everything

When Roxy came home with us, she was a catalogue of health problems. Her body had been pushed through the mill — quite literally. Skin and ear problems, joints stiff, immune system fragile, hormones in chaos, a dog who had known nothing but stress and deprivation.

We made a decision early on: no chemicals, no synthetic quick fixes. We’d spent decades working with rescue dogs and had seen what a natural approach — real food, thoughtful supplementation, a calm and loving environment — could do for a dog the rest of the world had given up on.

So we got to work. We researched. We adjusted. We tried things, tracked what helped and what didn’t. We fed Roxy as cleanly as we could. We found natural dog joint supplements that actually made a difference to her movement and her quality of life. And slowly, steadily, Roxy started to thrive.

We had 3.5 beautiful years with her. She was joyful, bouncy in her own Mastiff-sized way, and so, so loved. When she passed away, the house felt enormous in all the wrong ways.

What Roxy Taught Us About Natural Joint Care

One of the biggest things Roxy’s journey gave us was a very clear picture of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to natural joint support. The supplements that made a genuine difference to her movement weren’t the ones with the fanciest packaging or the longest ingredient lists. They were the ones built on a handful of well-researched, genuinely functional ingredients.

Glucosamine and chondroitin for joint structure and cushioning. MSM for connective tissue recovery. Green Lipped Mussel for omega-3 fatty acids which support joint lubrication and mobility. Turmeric for its long history of use in natural health. Boswellia. Hyaluronic acid. Real ingredients, honest dosing, nothing to hide.

We realised, after Roxy, that so many dog owners were in the same position we’d been in: wanting to do the very best for their dog, refusing to fill them with chemicals or other artificial ingredients, but not always sure what to trust.

Why We Built SolaPup

SolaPup was born from Roxy’s story. It’s her legacy.

We built it for the dogs who still have so much living to do — the active dogs, the young dogs, the large breeds who deserve proactive joint care, the rescues who came in behind on health and are catching up. Dogs who are going flat out and need their bodies to keep up with them.

Our glucosamine and chondroitin hip and joint soft chews contain nine natural actives. They’re gluten-free, chicken-free — we know bull breeds and sensitivities go together — and bacon-flavoured, because if Roxy taught us anything, it’s that a supplement has to actually get eaten to do any good.

Every ingredient is there because we researched it, tested it, believed in it. No fillers. No shortcuts. Just what we’d give our own dogs.

The Mission Behind the Brand

At SolaPup, we believe you shouldn’t have to choose between natural and effective. We believe prevention matters — that starting joint support early in a large or bull breed dog’s life gives them the best chance of staying active for longer. We believe in transparency, in honest labelling, and in treating dog owners as the intelligent, caring people they are.

And we believe in Roxy. Always.

If you’d like to know more about who we are and how SolaPup came to be, you can read our full story here. And if you want to understand more about how natural dog joint supplements can support your dog’s movement from the inside out, our guide to joint supplements for large breed dogs is a good place to start.

If you want to support your dog’s joints naturally, here’s what we made at SolaPup. Roxy would have approved. 🥰

As always, if your dog is showing signs of joint discomfort or stiffness, please check with your vet. This post shares our personal journey and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice.