Published October 24
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'A DAILY DOSE OF HOPE' Jojo Moyes | How do you welcome someone new into your home and heart? A week before Christmas 2022, former BBC journalist and award-nominated podcaster Rory Cellan-Jones received a special delivery that changed the course of his life. This is the story of #SophieFromRomania, told in full for the first time. In January 2022, the Cellan-Jones-Coyle family said goodbye to their beloved elderly Collie Cross, Cabbage.
Newly retired, Rory had become inseparable from her during daily pandemic walks which alleviated his Parkinson’s Disease symptoms. After a grief-stricken year, Rory and his wife Diane contemplated opening up their hearts again and came across a dog listing for ‘a kind girl who loves everybody and is just looking for her forever home’. Bright-eyed, big-eared and trembling, Sophie arrives in London in a van from Central Europe on 17th December.
Rory holds the Romanian rescue in his arms, excited for their first walk together – unaware it is more than a year ahead. Sophie from Romania follows the journey of her adoption – from her battles with anxiety, to the joys of play and her first foray outside – as Rory and Diane work with expert dog trainer Si to win Sophie’s trust, and navigate Rory’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. This is a moving story of growing together through love, kindness and a lot of patience, revealing how adopting pets can be challenging but also full of rewarding moments.
It’s also a celebration of rescue dogs, and communit,y as Rory uplifts fellow Romanian dog owners and his new friends from the #SophieFromRomania hashtag