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.

- Karen Rockett 

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.