A “morbidly obese” dog that was fed pasta by his previous owner has lost half of his body weight in six months.
Mixed-breed Patch came into the care of Hull’s Oakwood Dog Rescue in June, weighing four-and-a-half stone (30kg), with sores on his body including a large wound in his neck and rotting teeth.
After being moved on to a consistent diet with hydrotherapy treatment, nine-year-old Patch has gone from barely being able to stand up and walk to shedding nearly two-and-a-half stone (16kg) and is now ready to find his forever home.
Leanne Bottomley, who has worked closely with Patch and his journey at the charity, said: “We’ve never seen anything quite like Patch, not in my time.”
Ms Bottomley, who used to be a kennel supervisor but now primarily works in fundraising, said the rescue first heard about Patch when they received a hand-in form from his previous owner “saying he was aggressive, unpredictable and that they ‘wanted rid of the wretched dog’.”
Describing the charity’s first impression of Patch, Ms Bottomley said: “He was morbidly obese with bad skin, bald patches and a wound on his neck, maybe where a collar had been too small.
“He looked depressed; he wanted to get up but couldn’t.”
Once he was in the rescue’s care, he was booked in with a vet and started on flea treatment, steroids and antibiotics.
“The vet couldn’t hide how mortified she was. He was so well-behaved for her and she even welled up,” Ms Bottomley added.
A plan was created for Patch to be moved on to a consistent diet of grain-free meat, with four meals a day that were gradually reduced each week.
His previous owner had fed him supermarket-own-brand wet food with white pasta, the rescue said.
Patch also started going to hydrotherapy to help with his weight loss and to gain strength in his joints, and went on to have 28 teeth removed as most of them were rotten.
“I call him my little gummy bear because he’s only got six bottom teeth,” Ms Bottomley said.
Patch is described by the rescue as cheeky and “one of the friendliest, happiest dogs in the world” who “loves human companionship”.
“It is a very rewarding experience to see him so happy and light on his feet after struggling to even get up, it’s like a happy ending almost.
“We’re used to them coming in underweight but it was the opposite end of the spectrum to what we’re used to,” Ms Bottomley said.
Patch is lead-trained and can live with children 10 years and above, and another dog based on the right match.
He is not cat-tested but this can be done on request, the rescue said.
Ms Bottomley said that although Patch was approaching his 10th birthday, he “still has a lot of life left in him”.