I spent most of my teens in jail now I run a dog company

Lewis Smith, 34, has turned his life around to run Preston Pooches which helps XL Bully-type breeds of dogs from being put down.

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Sign up for our free newsletters now Lewis, who served 18 months three years ago for assault, said the the turning point for him to change his life for the better came from wanting to make his late mum Bernadette proud.

He said: “All my life I have been around criminality. Since I was 20 I have been in and out of jail 10 times.

“My mum passed away just before I went to jail and when I was in there it gave me time to think and reflect.

“I wanted to make her proud and so I decided this was the last time I would be in jail and that I was going to turn my life around.

“I spent most of my teens in jail - now I run a dog company.”

As chance would have it, Lewis then got an XL Bully dog from one of his friends and a French Bulldog.

He started breeding them and bought a van from the money he made from selling the pups.

He now has five kennels in the back of his van and travels up and down the country saving any that are to be put down or neglected.

He added: “The best part of my job is knowing that I have helped save their lives.

“At the end of the day, despite the new regulations, they are still living creatures and need to be treated as such.

“Three years ago I was in a bad place in a toxic relationship and was in and out of a police station and prison.

“Now I’ve got 10 dogs. I am on my second litter. I have a business set up and I have not touched a drug in months.

“I have a beautiful fiancé with another little girl on the way.

“I feel blessed to have changed my life around and I hope my mum is proud of me up there watching down on me.