‘Loneliest dog’ finally finds a forever home

By Emily Jordan

Britain's "loneliest dog," which was rescued from a property where she was being kept with 200 others has found a new home after nearly three years in kennels.

Sadie, a five-year-old collie mix, was saved by the RSPCA after being found living in horrific conditions in an outdoor compound in Cornwall.

After spending nearly 1,000 days in kennels, staff at the charity's Brighton and Heart of Sussex branch took to social media to try and find her a loving home.

Staff posted a video of her each day to their TikTok account to help get her adopted after nearly three years in the charity's care.

On the 83rd day, one of those videos reached Mabel Edge after it was shared by one of her colleagues.

Mabel, 51, and her partner Al, from Westward Ho!, Devon, were surprised that no one had adopted Sadie yet.

Mabel said: "When I first saw the clips of her, I was taken by how sweet she seemed and couldn't believe she'd been waiting for a home for so long.

"I found myself checking back in every day to see what she'd been up to, and said to my partner Al how sad it was that nobody wanted her.

"And then he said, 'well why don't we go and look at her?'"

The couple had lost their previous rescue dog the year before, and weren't looking to adopt another initially.

But their experience with rescue dogs and life in a rural seaside village meant they could give Sadie the home she deserved.

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Mabel and Al drove from Devon to Brighton twice to meet Sadie, before they decided to bring her home.

Mabel said: "We knew from speaking to the staff at the branch that Sadie would need patience and understanding, because of her difficult past - but we thought she'd be a lot worse.

"After a couple of visits with us, we could see her slowly letting her guard down and she was just so sweet.

"We knew it wouldn't be easy and we would need to work with Sadie, but we knew we could give her something better than what she had in kennels.

"We were worried about how she'd be on the long journey, and we had a crate and bed set up for her in the back of our camper van - but she decided to sit up in the front with us in the footwell, and from that moment it was like she'd been in our lives forever."

Six months on, Sadie has settled into life in Devon, enjoying walks on the beach and lots of affection.

Mabel added: "Sadie is a beautiful dog, so loving and sweet. She brings a completely new dynamic to our house. Yes, there's a lot of dirt and hairs now, but also so much joy and connection.

"She gives us the opportunity to pause and enjoy the small things, to get out and spend time with her and with each other instead of being buried in work and life admin, and to have different conversations.

"Rescuing her really is the best decision we could have made."

Jenny Eden, manager at the RSPCA Brighton Branch, said: "Sadie sadly spent a long time with us - it really felt like she was Britain's loneliest dog.

"My team worked so hard bit by bit over months to build her confidence and help her learn to trust people. Then we really needed to find someone with the patience to give her a chance.

"TikTok helped us showcase her personality with people she knew, so it gave us a real opportunity to show the gorgeous girl she really is.

"Sadie is a sweet, affectionate dog who just wanted to be loved, and we're so glad she's found that with Mabel and Al."