Sarah the lurcher's 1,000-day wait for a new home

Sarah "loves nothing more now than the freedom of having a zoomie" in the centre's exercise paddock, said the RSPCA

A plea has been made on behalf of a rescue dog who has spent more than 1,000 days in the care of the RSPCA.

Sarah, a three-year-old lurcher, had previously been shut in a kennel and had to be carried out of the venue she was rescued from.

She has been at RSPCA Block Fen Animal Centre in Cambridgeshire since November 2021, but she became available for rehoming only in December 2022 due to court proceedings as part of a large welfare case.

RSPCA supervisor Tiffany Saunders said other dogs in the case had been rehomed, but although Sarah had twice come close to finding a new family, they fell through "at the last minute through no fault of her own".

Sarah would need to meet potential adopters a few times before they can take her home

Staff at the centre, near Wimblington, were so excited for Sarah when they thought she had finally found her forever home that they held out a huge banner with the word “Reserved”.

Ms Saunders said: “We were all just gutted... she was so very close.

"We understand why [the potential adopters] changed their minds, but it left us all feeling disheartened because we really thought this time she had got her own happy-ever-after.

"If any dog deserves a family of their own it's Sarah. Before she came to us, her life had been awful.

"She was shut in a kennel all the time, didn’t know how to walk on a lead and had to be carried out of the venue she was rescued from."

Sarah has since come on in "leaps and bounds" and is often seen comforting other dogs in the kennels next to her.

"She’s even tried to share her ragger toy with them," Ms Saunders said.

The centre wants an experienced lurcher owner to take on Sarah.