This is Albie, the lovely lurcher who spent nearly five years at the RSPCA waiting for a home.
He was rescued by inspectors as part of an investigation just before Christmas in 2017, and had to stay in the charity’s care while the case unfolded.
Sadly, the poor guy had been used for hunting and wildlife crimes – as a result, part of his nose is now missing.
But when Albie was finally in line for rehoming, the pandemic hit and staff at Southridge Animal Centre, in Hertfordshire, weren’t able to find the right family for him.
Manager Anna White said: ‘Sadly, Albie was a victim of Covid. He became available for rehoming just before the country was plunged into lockdown and that meant we had to close our doors to the public to adhere to the restrictions.
‘If someone had come in looking for a dog in person they’d be sure to fall in love with him as he’s such a lovely boy when you meet him.
‘But we had to rely on advertising our animals online and, sadly, we found he was constantly overlooked and we had barely any enquiries about him.’
That was until Grace Ho, from West London, saw his profile online.
She recalled: ‘I lost my dog in April and had finally come around to the idea of volunteering or rehoming a dog. In my head, I wanted a small Staffie or a spaniel – I really didn’t have a dog like Albie in mind at all.
‘But when I saw his profile that said no one wanted him it broke my heart. I think most people see him as this scary dog because he’s missing part of his nose and has lots of scars and so never even gave him a chance.
‘I spoke to the centre and asked if I could go and meet him, take him for walks, and see how we got on. I spent around two months walking him and getting to know him. I learned all about his quirks and his reactivity towards other dogs and I felt like I could manage that effectively.
‘Albie is so lovely. He’s a real gentle soul with humans and smiles. There’s obviously a lot to work on, but I know I can handle it. He’s already made some good progress.’
Albie went home with Grace in September, and is settling into his new life well.
Grace said: ‘He loves his food, cuddling on the sofa and going for walks.’
Well, who among us doesn’t?
Although he can be reactive with other dogs and wears a muzzle when he’s out of the house, Grace takes it all in her stride.
She said: ‘We enjoy walks at the quiet park near our house and then, at the weekends, we go to busier parks where I know we’ll have to meet other dogs. I’m working hard to desensitise him as much as possible. He’s already made friends with two greyhounds who he’s happy to walk with.
‘At home, he’s such a good boy. He doesn’t ask for much. He just wants a cosy bed and a full tummy.
‘He’ll jump up onto the sofa next to me when I’m working and stuff his head behind my back; he just likes to be close to me.’
Anna and the rest of the Southridge team are understandably ecstatic that Albie has finally found a loving home after he had such a tough start to life and spent so many years in kennels.
She said: ‘It just shows that there is a home out there for every dog.’
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