She was close to death when she was rescued from the home of Michael Forrester, 53, and his wife Emma, 45.

The couple were banned for life from keeping animals after Tia and another dog were found close to death in their kitchen in Forest Lane, where they had been kept for two years.

Tia, then called Natalia, was so desperate to escape her prison that she wore a hole in the lino – and her companion, a Doberman called Charmaine, had to be put down after she was found sunken-eyed, collapsed and surrounded by faeces.

But Tia, who had smelly, scabby sores on her body and kept running around in tight circles, was taken to Border Collie Rescue near York, where her condition and behaviour gradually improved.

Dog handler Nicki Oliver said: "When she came into our care she was underweight, suffering from muscle wastage, had sores from lying in urine and very bad teeth. The latter problem was caused by bad diet and rectified by good diet, exercise and the extraction of six teeth.

"She also needed 24/7 care to correct her repeated circling, a habit allowed to build up over some time.

"Tia loves her new-found freedom."

Tia has already gone to a new home for a four-week trial period and it is hoped the adoption will eventually become permanent.