ONE of the world’s rarest dogs has found a home in Stonesfield.

The Gleeson family are the proud owners of three-month-old stabyhoun puppy Jaeger.

He is just the fourth stabyhoun in Britain and the first in Oxfordshire.

There are only 3,500 of the breed, which originates in the Netherlands, worldwide. The name translates into English as “stand by me”.

Grace Gleeson, 12, who had been searching the Internet for a new family dog said: “I’m over the moon about it. Jaeger is an amazing dog to have around the house.”

Her mother, Karen, said she had agreed to get a stabyhoun because of their gentle temperament. She said: “They’re very good dogs to have around children. Jaeger is at once full of bubbly energy but is also very calm.”

His arrival is part of an initiative to establish the breed by the UK Stabyhoun Association, which has been made possible by a change in the law last year UK border laws previously specified that all imported dogs were to be vaccinated six months before entering the country.

But the requirements were dropped to three weeks at the start of last year, allowing families to form a bond with puppies.

Christina Savage, president of the UK Stabyhoun Association, said: “With the help of breeders in Holland and the changed border laws, we are now able to source these rare puppies for people in England.

"Families who are interested in one of these very special dogs will get a loving and loyal companion.”