Scotland's "saddest dog" has finally found a forever family. The Scottish SPCA dubbed a two-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier as the "saddest dog in Scotland" because of the extraordinary length of time the dog had spent with them. The dog named Scooby had been living in kennels for over 15 months, longer than any other animal that they looked after, and over half his life.

Staff at the Aberdeenshire Rehoming and Rescue Centre feared he was so lonely he was dying of depression. Prior to his adoption, the centre’s Debbie Innes said: "Poor Scooby has all but given up and you can just see the light in his eyes fading as he returns to his kennel at the end of another day without any interest. He's now becoming resigned to living a life of solitude...As soon as you put him back in the kennel you almost see the little shoulders slump."

That's when the SSPCA put out a plea to the public to help the sad dog. That was 10 days ago, and as result of the media attention Scooby received over 200 people interested in adopting him. The center was astounded at the response to their appeal.

David Prokipczyn and his wife Anne were selected as Scooby's new owners. 

David, an ex-police dog handler, said: "My wife and I have been married 40 years and we've always owned dogs. It's only very recently that we've been without one and the house has felt so empty. When we read Scooby's story in the paper, my wife was in tears so we agreed we would love to offer him the good home he deserves."

Anne added: "We met Scooby for the first time last Wednesday. He was a lovely boy and seemed very cheerful. He just about licked David to death. We had our grandson Evan with us and it was just lovely but, as soon as he was popped back into the kennel, he became very sad and quiet. We spoke his name but he just sat with his head down and looked very unhappy."

"We are absolutely thrilled to be getting him home with us," said the couple, who picked Scooby up on Monday. 

The Aberdeen Center was overjoyed to see the sweet dog head out for his new home. As Scooby departed the shelter the SSPCA posted their thoughts on their Facebook page: "We could burst with joy after seeing Scooby barrelling out the front door, tail wagging like the clappers!" Translation - his tail was wagging like mad!

Short video of Scooby as part of the SSPCA's adoption appeal.

• staffordshire terrier
• Pit Bull
• Scotland
• adoption
• Scottish SPCA