Dog found shaking in ditch 'blows up the internet'

A lorry driver has been reunited with a cocker spaniel he helped rescue from the side of a busy road.

Pete Miller was driving to work along the A18 near Grimsby, Lincolnshire, when he spotted the "quivering wreck" in a ditch and raised the alarm.

"The little dog was wet-through lying on the ground, petrified and watching all the traffic fly by," said Mr Miller, who has named her Sally.

The rescue centre now caring for Sally has been flooded with requests to adopt her after the story "blew up the internet" when shared on social media.

Mr Miller said he spotted the young cocker spaniel "out of the corner of my eye" at about 07:00 on 28 March.

He called Immingham Dogs Home, who liaised with rescue volunteer Erica Fox.

Ms Fox picked up Sally from the side of the road and is now caring for her at Paw & Co, the rescue centre she runs in Keelby.

"She was very smelly, really matted. We think she's come from a back-yard breeder or puppy farm and just used for breeding," Ms Fox said.

The rescue centre had about 1,000 applications to rehome Sally after her story racked up 1.5 million views on TikTok.

However, the cocker spaniel is not yet ready to be put up for adoption.

Ms Fox said the level of interest online had surprised her, as other rescue dogs had similar stories.

Mr Miller said he was not able to adopt Sally because of his job, but had named her after one of his first dogs.

"It's good to see she isn't injured physically, but mentally she is," he added.

"I just couldn't drive past and leave her."

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