Chesterfield: Rescue dog finds forever home after long wait

Storm saying goodbye to the RSPCA after being adopted

A rescue dog that spent more than a year at a shelter has finally found her forever home.

Storm, a two-year-old cross-breed, had been at the RSPCA's Chesterfield and North Derbyshire shelter for 380 days after arriving from another shelter in Manchester.

Staff said they were puzzled about why it took so long for someone to come forward and offer a fresh start.

New owners Mark and Susan Brown said they felt "blessed" to have her.

Richard Granger, who looked after Storm during her time at the shelter, said saying goodbye to the young dog was the "happiest and easiest" farewell he had experienced.

He said: "I have spent the last 300 days baffled that Storm just seemed to fall through the net slightly, so it's been frustrating.

"People often ask how hard it must be to say goodbye to the dogs we get attached to, but it's the best part of the job when they leave us.

"It's the best day of the dog's lives, so it wasn't a difficult goodbye, it was the best one. I am just delighted for her."

Storm has been settling in at her new home

Mark and Susan Brown, 57, from Morton, said they fell in love with Storm after seeing her advertised on the RSPCA website.

"We both loved her from watching the video online and it was so sad that she had been with the RSPCA for so long," said Mrs Brown.

"We have had rescue dogs for the last 25 years and recently, we lost our last dog so the house has been empty without a little friend in our home.

"Storm has made the house her own and she has settled in really well. She loves us both and we love her to pieces too."