Many of you will have been following the story of Sophie, the sweet little dog from Romania who was adopted by Rory Cellan-Jones and his wife Diane. Sophie is a very shy girl but she’s growing in confidence daily and is making strides in her own way. I’ve loved seeing the gentle patience and understanding of her adopters and the lovely response to her story online. Follow the hashtag #sophiefromromania to find out more.
Sadly, there are always going to be online trolls, and a few people have come out to say that ‘street dogs like Sophie’ should be left on the streets as they aren’t happy in home environments - Sophie’s reticence apparently proves this.
First of all, Sophie has never been a street dog - she was found as a puppy with her litter mates and taken in by a kind rescuer. This is the case with so many puppies from unwanted litters who are abandoned and left to die - the sad product of dogs not being spayed or neutered. Just follow Barking Mad Dog Rescue to see how big a problem this is.
Secondly, Sophie is not a wolf - she is descended from domesticated dogs. She would likely have died if left on the streets - either from disease, malnutrition or attacks from bigger, more established street dogs. Is that just par for the course according to the rescue sceptics? Can’t we do better than that? If we saw an abandoned puppy on the street outside our house, we’d want to help, and I don’t understand how it’s any different just because Sophie has come from abroad.
Humans domesticated dogs and we have a duty of care to look after them. Yes, there are ‘true’ street dogs and feral dogs (different again) that wouldn’t cope with being brought indoors, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. The people who believe Sophie would have been better off left on the streets clearly haven’t seen the reality first hand, nor do they understand that not all rescue dogs are street dogs.
I do try not to feed the trolls, but this one got to me! I'll continue to look forward to Sophie's daily updates - progress or not - as her story is a testament to human kindness and patience 🐾
