For a moment, Cabbage was the most famous collie in the country after the dog’s theft in November sparked a social media storm that eventually led to its rescue.

But now Cabbage has taken a last walk, dying at the age of 15 after a short illness.

The dog’s owner, Rory Cellan-Jones, a former BBC technology correspondent, announced the death on Saturday, saying his family have “had to say goodbye” to their “lovely, energetic Cabbage”.

The 63-year-old told his 197,000 Twitter followers: “She was a lovely, energetic and really smart member of our family. It was time for her to go, but we miss her so much.”

Cabbage had suffered a bout of gastroenteritis a few weeks ago, and Cellan-Jones wrote: “She was already quite frail, and she was struggling to get up, which is just not good… and we just thought she’s not got any quality of life, it was tragic.”