Quite a few of you followed Sidney’s story. You will be all pleased to hear he has found his forever home. His owner, Tim, has been in touch:

‘Sidney and I have been sharing a home together for nearly three months.

During that time, he has demonstrated what all those who know him would recognise: great good nature, up for just about anything and always positive and enthusiastic. For Sid, the glass is always half full if not overflowing and life is for living.

Before he arrived, I was confident that he would be a lovely dog, but a little apprehensive about how he would settle in with me, and particularly whether he would miss Sandy and Brian after all the love and care they brought to him in fostering. When they kindly brought him to me en route to Cornwall, he did indeed miss them, but his positive, optimistic self came to his aid and within a few hours he was keen to explore and learn about his new home and surroundings.

I am so glad to tell you that he really is enjoying his new life. He already knows his way around the locality and therefore where squirrels might lurk with that ever optimistic expectation that a squirrel 10m up a tree is fair game for a terrier. He is also becoming something of a star locally, his perambulations around the village are punctuated by ‘there’s Sidney, hello Sidney or isn’t he lovely’. At first I used to respond by saying thank you to the latter until I realised that it was Sid they were addressed to: I’m lucky to receive a ‘oh hello Tim’ as a coda, but that is Sid for you, and why not as he is such a lovely boy. It took him a little while to adjust to local dog society, but now he has, and meeting and greeting fellow canines is all part of the fun in his daily voyages of inspection around his new village. The good news is also that his health seems to flourish: I took him to the local vets who were marvellous with my lovely cat until I lost her (sorry readers, I am a dog and cat person), and they said ‘let’s try to reduce his medication significantly’. This we have done and he shows no ill effect, indeed he shows no signs of pain and, whilst vigilance is ever needed, I think he continues to improve after all the care given to him by or through Terrier SOS and his fosterers.

With luck, we may be able to reduce medication further over time, which is good news for him. And we beginning to extend the adventures we have as we get to know each other, and, for example, he has already woven the Sidney charm in making my elderly mother smile and respond when he visits her as she recovers from a second broken hip.

As for me, Sidney is the most loving, marvellous and vibrant companion that anyone could hope for, constantly bringing a smile to my face. I’ll do everything I can to ensure that he has a long, and very happy and healthy life, Oh and by the way, he does live up to the name on his passport when the urge to rush around grabs him: ‘torpedo’! Thank you Terrier SOS.”