Dog rehomed after three years due to BBC coverage

Joanne Baker said anybody looking to adopt a dog should not have preconceptions about rescue animals

A rescue dog who spent 1,000 days and the last three Christmases in kennels will celebrate this year with its new owners.

Sarah, a three-year-old lurcher, was chosen by her new family when they read a plea for help by the RSPCA Block Fen Centre in Cambridgeshire on the BBC website.

The dog has moved in with the Baker family in Nottinghamshire and new owner Joanne said "since coming home with us she has relaxed and become a loved member of our family".

Sarah was taken in during November 2021, but only became available for rehoming in December 2022 due to court proceedings as part of a large welfare case.

Sarah came into RSPCA care when she was just a youngster as part of a large welfare case

Ms Baker said: "After reading her story on the BBC News website, I couldn't stand to think a young dog could potentially spend the rest of her life in kennels.

"We live in an old farmhouse in a small village; Sarah enjoys the garden and, with our other lurcher Charlie, loves zoomies out there.

"I can't say it's doing a lot of good for our grass, but they are having a great time and that is what counts."

She said house training for Sarah only took a week.

It will be Sarah's first Christmas in a home and the family were keen to make it extra special, giving the dogs a stocking filled with treats, a long walk and a bit of Christmas dinner.

Tiffany Saunders, RSPCA kennel supervisor at Block Fen in Wimblington, said: "Sarah had previously twice come so close to finding a family of her own - but now she is living the best life.

"If any dog deserves a family of their own it's Sarah.

"Before she came to us, her life had been awful as she was shut in a kennel all the time and didn't know how to walk on a lead and had to be carried out of the venue she was rescued from."