Rescue dog that melted a nation’s heart
WIDE-EYED and trembling with fear, Sophie From Romania snuggled into her new owner’s jumper as his wife took the first of many heartwarming pictures that delighted Britain’s dog lovers.
It has been 15 months since Diane Cellan-jones posted that photo on social media of the family’s rescue dog, lovingly held by her husband, former BBC correspondent Rory.
Clearly having been mistreated and abandoned by the roadside in her native country, the terrified little dog spent those first weeks at her new west London home cowering behind the sofa, with Rory at a loss as how to help her.
The one-year-old rescue dog was frightened of everyone and everything.
Coaxing her out from her hiding place for a treat and cuddle before she rushed back was a major achievement for Rory and Diane, a Cambridge professor, and their two sons.
They documented every milestone with a post on social media to the delight of Sophie’s growing number of fans. But it would almost three months before they managed to persuade the nervous dog to go for a walk in the park.
And then it involved being carried to the car to avoid their busy street and then ages spent trying to persuade her out.
By then she was an internet sensation and the news Sophie had finally managed a walk in the park was met with joy by her tens of thousands of followers. More than 350,000 dog lovers follow her progress on social media and Rory has now written a book. Sophie From Romania: A Year Of Love And Hope with a Rescue Dog will be published later this year and is available to order.
But even now visitors to her home are quietly handed small pieces of sausage and cheese on arrival to calm Sophie’s nerves.
Rory said: “She’s still very nervous about loud noises and when strangers come to the house. So we just ask visitors to throw pieces of cheese and sausage at her when they come round.”
The difficult decision to adopt a rescue dog
‘Sophie no longer sleeps behind the sofa’
came after the family had said goodbye to their beloved elderly collie cross, Cabbage.
Newly retired, Rory, 66, had become inseparable from Cabbage during daily pandemic walks which alleviated his Parkinson’s disease symptoms.
After a grief-stricken period they decided to open up their hearts again and came across a listing for “a kind girl who loves everybody and is just looking for her forever home”.
Sophie spent 72 hours in a van travelling the 2,000 miles from Romania to reach them at 3am on the Saturday before Christmas in 2022. Details
about her background from rescue charity Friends were sketchy and Rory did not have a clue about what he was letting himself in for.
“All we know is she was dumped by the roadside, found by a vet, who gave her to her father to look after in a barn for several months,” he explained. “What has been the hardest part of looking after Sophie was the worry that she would never get braver and live a normal doggy life.
“But she no longer sleeps behind the sofa. She sleeps in one of her two beds.
“I wrote the book because people seemed so engaged in her daily progress, or lack of it!”
He added: “I thought there was a compelling story in it so it’s dedicated to her many fans.
“She still chews up the post into a thousand pieces and barks at reflections of herself.
“We have had to learn patience. It has been a long and difficult journey.”
Around 20,000 dogs are rescued from abroad each year, with almost half coming from Romania like Sophie.
The Dogs Trust advises finding out as much as possible about your prospective rescue’s health, background and behaviour before you commit.