Kings Arms Hotel in Dorset and says the dog is already a hit with customers

Max the appealing little corgski stray won readers’ hearts when he made his picture debut in The Mail on Sunday last month.

Now the lucky corgi-husky cross, found abandoned and wandering the streets, has fallen on all four paws and landed himself a loving new home.

Samantha Martin, 27, was so smitten by the picture of the diminutive dog, who is fully grown but stands just 18½in from foot to shoulder, that she rang the Dogs Trust in Basildon, Essex, repeatedly to secure him as her new pet – then made a seven-hour round trip to bring him home to Blandford Forum in Dorset.

Max the appealing little corgski stray has found a loving new home with pub manager Samantha Martin

Samantha manages the local Kings Arms Hotel, and Max – now renamed Teddy – has been installed as the prime attraction.

‘The customers love him and he likes to greet everybody – though he’s less keen on men than women,’ she said. ‘That might reflect some trauma in his past. We think he’s about a year and a half old.

‘He sleeps on a fluffy rug next to my bed. He does have his own room, which is stuffed with a special sofa and all his toys. After a bad start, I suppose you could say he’s now a bit spoiled.’

She changed his name, she said, because ‘it seemed ironic that he has the shortest little mini legs and was named Max. But he has got these gorgeous big bear-like paws and has a real cuddly teddy bear appeal’.

She added: ‘Considering his poor start in life, he is incredibly bossy and vocal. If we go for walks he storms ahead, then looks back as if to say, “Catch up!”

Samantha manages the local Kings Arms Hotel, and Max – now renamed Teddy – has been installed as the prime attraction

Samantha Martin, 27, was so smitten by the picture of the diminutive dog, who is fully grown but stands just 18½in from foot to shoulder, that she rang the Dogs Trust in Basildon, Essex, repeatedly to secure him as her new pet

‘I’ve only had him a month and when he came he had not been trained at all. Now he sits, stands on his hind legs and gives customers high-fives with his paw. He’s an incredibly clever little dog.’

Not much is known about Max’s origins, which are thought to be in Ireland. How he came to be wandering the streets of Essex remains a mystery. He quickly became a favourite with the Dogs Trust workers, and after his picture appeared in The Mail on Sunday his future was assured.

‘In the pub he’s a little angel,’ Samantha said. ‘Everybody loves him.’ There are currently 54 other wolf-like breeds such as Alaskan malamutes and Siberian huskies being cared for by the Dogs Trust. The charity blames successful TV shows such as Game Of Thrones and Twilight, which have popularised the breeds.