AFTER being overlooked for five years and by more than 15,000 people, a former homeless hound has finally found a new owner.

Crossbreed Buster had been in the dog house since 2011 after he arrived at Dogs Trust Darlington as a puppy.

And after years of waiting, it looked as if Buster was barking up the wrong tree in his search to find care outside of kennels.

But the Dogs Trust’s Special Someone campaign aired across national television that featured a similar-looking rescue dog to Buster inspired the Proctor family to take on the dog that nobody wanted.

The Newcastle-based family travelled to visit the four-legged residents at the Darlington centre after being moved by the advert which boosted the volume of visitors by a third.

Buster’s new owner, Lauren Proctor, from Newcastle, said: “Buster is settling in really well, we already can’t imagine life without him.

“You would think he had spent every night curled up on our sofa for years rather than in kennels – he is definitely our special someone and he seems very happy that we are his.”

The powerful advert had already inspired dog lover and keen knitter, Susan Thomas, from Thornaby, to leave a gift attached to the gates of Dogs Trust Darlington last month.

Mrs Thomas revealed herself to be the mastermind behind a woollen mystery after two knitted characters with a striking resemblance to the stars of the Special Someone campaign had been left at the centre overnight.

The “ninja knitter” explained that another dog featured in the charity’s advert looked similar to her own pup, Snoopy, an English Springer Spaniel that she adopted from the centre in 2011.

And the influence of Special Someone campaign has left rehoming centre staff overwhelmed with a record number of visitors searching for a four-legged companion.

Judith Davidson, a Dogs Trust Darlington re-homer, said: “We all adore Buster at the rehoming centre – he has been with us so long and is such a character and are delighted he has found such a wonderful home after searching for so long.

“The support for our rescue dogs following the search for a Special Someone campaign has been overwhelming, it just goes to show we really are a nation of animal lovers.”

Dogs Trust Darlington, at Hill House Farm, Sadberge, is open from noon until 4pm from Friday to Tuesday and open until 7pm on a Thursday.

For more information, visit dogstrust.co.uk