IT’S a shaggy dog tale – with a foreign twist.

Susan Armstrong from Ardrossan has a new best friend in the fluffy shape of Basil the terrier-Llhasa Apso cross from Romania.

Basil was rescued by the charity Romanian Dog Rescue Support Scotland from the back streets of Bucharest where he was roaming wild.

Abandoned dogs are becoming an epidemic in Romania where laws have been introduced obliging owners to have their pets chipped and inoculated.

The cost of these procedures is several times the weekly wage of the averge worker leading owners to abandon the dogs or face prosecution.

Susan found Basil through the Romanian Dog Rescue Support Scotland Facebook page and underwent stringent vetting – including a home visit – to make sure she was a suitable adopter.

To her delight Susan, passed and took delivery of two-year-old Basil a couple of weeks ago.

Susan says he is settling in to life in Ardrossan very well.

“He could have been here a lifetime,” she says.

“He’s a very loving dog – when I go to the toilet there he is behind me!” Set up last year, the charity has now rehomed 70 dogs around the UK via the Facebook page and the parent charity Barking Mad Dog Rescue.

If you are interested in adopting a Romanian dog go to the Romanian Dog Rescue Support Scotland Facebook page or barkingmaddogrescue.co.uk.