A LOVEABLE hound who spent more than five years looking for his forever home, found it in time for Valentine's Day.

Last year, nine-year-old rescue dog Dan was at Dogs Trust Evesham spending his fifth Valentine’s Day in kennels, looking to be part of a human family.

Now, the former stray is being lavished with love by his new owners, Ben and Abi Thompson at his new home in Longbridge, who say it was love at first sight when they spotted him on the website and now couldn’t imagine life without him.

Abi: “Dan is just amazing and has definitely filled our hearts with so much joy.

“We’re both dog mad and had been used to family dogs, but hadn’t had one of our own. We had been looking for a Dogs Trust dog for a while but when Ben spotted Dan on the website, I was smitten!

"We called up to enquire and the team took us through his background. "Because Dan does have some anxieties around strangers, they explained that the adoption process would take a little longer than usual to make sure he felt comfortable around us.

“We knew we didn’t want a puppy and had decided that the main thing for us was to give a dog a home that didn’t have one. Even though we knew adopting Dan could take time and have its challenges, we were prepared to take a chance on him."

The trio have not created an unbreakable bond.

Ben said: “Dan has settled right in. It’s been so nice to see him relax in his new home and claim his favourite spot on the sofa! His favourite things are walks, playing with his favourite toys and being affectionate with us – he’s never far from our side. We really appreciated everything the team at Dogs Trust Evesham did to help him feel at ease with us and make sure we were the right family for Dan – it certainly paid off! We fell in love with him at our first meeting and it’s safe to say he’s here to stay!”

If you could change the tale for a rescue hound like Dan, visit: dogstrust.org.uk