A one-eyed dog left unwanted at an animal shelter for "being ugly" has finally found her forever home.

Six-year-old Mia was abandoned at a Long Island Animal shelter with scars and a missing eye, implying she had been abused and used for breeding.

Australian Cattledog and American Staffordshire Terrier cross spent a lot of time in the shelter as many people passed up ‘ugly’ Mia due to her scars in favour of other pets.

This changed when Mia met Moira Horan, from Broad Channel, New York, and it was love at first sight.

The shelter staff were ecstatic that someone was finally taking Mia and happily released her into Moira’s care with no adoption fees to be paid.

Now the underdog that nobody wanted has a forever home under the doting watch of a caring owner.

Videos show Mia living her best life showing that despite adversity you can’t keep a good dog down.

Moira, who works as a nanny, said: “I went alone to a shelter on Long Island.

“I went to this shelter with the intention of adopting a puppy. I looked at the ones they had and none of them were really calling me.

"I kept walking down the aisle and saw this little girl with the biggest ears and prettiest face that happened to be missing an eye.

“She was the only dog wearing a red collar, and red is my favorite colour. She didn’t bark at me. She just looked up at me and I fell in love.

“I looked at the info posted on her enclosure and saw her name was Mia, which is every other letter of my name and I just knew I needed to take her home.

“I got the first person I saw and they took her out for me so I could get to know her. She was so happy to get out and had so much energy.

“As we were walking out, one of the volunteers said, 'you’re finally going home, Mama Mia'. She had been there a long time.

“The best thing about Mia is the unconditional love, having someone who is always excited to see you, and the happiness she has added to my life.

“In some of my worst times, she gives me a reason to keep going. And she’s just so easy to love.”

This compilation was created on the 25th August 2021.