A Huddersfield woman who went to exceptional lengths to save a feral Romanian dog from death has told how she rehabilitated it and brought it home to live with her.

While most would turn the other cheek, Sarah Napier from Kirkburton decided to try and help neglected Ursu – which means bear in Romanian.

Ursu was so aggressive after years of abuse that he had to be sedated before being approached by a human when Sarah first spotted him online.

She decided to try and adopt him to turn his life around.

She explained: “Ursu had survived as a stray for about two years on the streets of Romania’s captial, Bucharest, before being caught by the dog catchers and flung into one of Romania’s most notorious kill shelters.

“Miraculously he survived on scraps of food for about three years despite being surrounded by death and disease, and was somehow spared the barbaric regular killing of the dogs.”

It took a lot of persuading for the Romanian dog rescue charity that had Ursu to let Sarah take him on.

Ursu travelled from Romania to join Sarah and her husband Robert in Kirklees in January 2015.

Caroline Logan of Wakefield, who is a volunteer with the charity, Monica’s Romanian Rescue, witnessed Ursu’s terror-stricken reaction the day he was collected by the Napiers.

She said: “The kill shelters of Romania are so called because of their brutal practices including culling dogs in inhumane ways such as clubbing, poisoning, starving, freezing them to death and burning them alive.

“The strays are caught using metal lassos that tighten round the neck and some have their legs trussed at painful angles.

“Ursu witnessed all of this, and experienced much of it, and so he chose to shut down from humans.

“He would growl if anyone made a move towards him and his eventual fate was unclear while ever he was incarcerated.”

Said Sarah: “We were the only people to enquire about him in all his life.

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“The more I learned of his story the more I felt such a stoic dog should be given a chance.

“But I’m not a dog psychologist so I had to rely on an innate understanding, backed up by research to try and work with him.

“There was no way my husband and I could just take him to dog training.

“He arrived biting, bucking and terrified as he hadn’t walked as such for about four years.

“He wouldn’t take a collar or a lead.

“He was terrified of just about everything. We were beginning way back from the usual start line.” .

Sarah has written the story of her time with Ursu and despite the potential for a tragedy, ‘Ursu – Never Give up On a Dog’ is so-called because of the heart-warming portrayal of how a canine’s emotional intelligence in its relationship with humans should never be underestimated.

“The morning after we got him,” said Sarah, “Ursu took the decision to come up to me, sit down and put his head on my lap.

“After years of shunning all human contact his behaviour was extraordinary.

“He was still terrified and feral, and inclined to try and bite, but his canine intelligence told him he was somewhere very different and that he should take a chance on us.

“It was still a long haul to get him to where he is now but he is now the most affectionate of dogs and exuberantly happy.”

She added: “The charity said he was one of the most damaged dogs they have ever seen.

“If Ursu and I can do it then anyone with the patience and motivation to help these wretched dogs can do so too.

“It isn’t rocket science – have love in your heart, think like a dog and not as a human and with patience, a dog will turn itself around.

“Ursu has developed into a wonderful dog and deserves every second of the safe and peaceful life he now lives.

“We’re very proud of him.”

‘Ursu – Never Give Up on a Dog’ is available now on Amazon, and in all good book stores from July 7, priced £7.99.