- By Caroline Lowbridge
- BBC News, East Midlands
5 May 2024, 07:04 BST
A new home has finally been found for a “gentle giant” rescue dog that spent almost a year at an RSCPA center in Derbyshire.
Stanley is settling into his new home in Wiltshire – 180 miles away from the rehoming center where he had been living.
When he was rescued in May 2023 he had infected ears, fur loss, and wounds caused by self-trauma.
He has now been adopted by Nikki Farbrother and her husband Crispin.
“As soon as I saw the picture of Stanley I fell in love with him because he’s just so gorgeous,” said Mrs Farbrother.
“It said on the website that he had been there for almost a year, and that broke my heart a little bit because no dog deserves to be in kennels for that long.”
Stanley’s new owners had previously looked after dogs as volunteers for Guide Dogs for the Blind but decided to get their own “forever dog.”
Their son had also been looking to adopt their own dog. He sent his mum a link to an Akita called Snow who was being rehomed by RSPCA Chesterfield and North Derbyshire, which is near where he lives.
Mrs Farbrother then started looking at the other dogs who needed homes, which was when she spotted Stanley, who is a crossbreed.
She emailed the center, filled out some forms, then she and her husband traveled up to see Stanley and brought him home the same day.
“They don’t normally do that but we were traveling from such a long way,” said Mrs Farbrother.
“He’s the biggest, loveable, gentle giant. He just wants to sit on your lap.
“Wherever you are he will come and sit on your lap and get as close to you as he can.”
Their son has also reserved Snow, meaning two dogs at the rehoming center have hopefully found their forever homes.
Stanley had spent a total of 341 days at the rehoming center.
He had previously lived outside in what the RSPCA described as “unsuitable conditions”, before his previous owner agreed to sign him over to the charity.
Staff at the center had tears of happiness when they saw Stanley go to his new home.
A spokesperson said: “We never gave up looking for a home for Stanley, we knew the right family was out there waiting to find him and they were.
“No one deserves this more and we wish Stanley and his new family lots of happy and fun-filled adventures.”
