Dog starved to the brink of death now fighting fit thanks to diet after rescue centre fed him ten meals a day
Bruce was skin and bones after being found on the street and was the worst case the centre had seen in 18 years
A dog who was left starved to the brink of death after being dumped on the street has made a miraculous recovery after being fed over ten meals a day.
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Bruce the pocket Bully was four years old when he was discovered by a member of the public, weighing just 9kg, less than a third of what he should have been for his age.
Shocking pictures show the pup severely underweight, with his ribs sticking out and his ears cropped, a practice which is illegal in the UK.
Bruce, who was originally named Kermit, was taken in by dedicated volunteers at South East Dog Rescue in Kent, where he was fed meals every two hours and showered with love.
Manager at the centre, Kymm White, 43, said Bruce was the most malnourished dog she had come across in 18 years of the job.
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She said: "We don't get a lot of information off the warden, but he was either picked up off the street or dumped somewhere.
"The pictures of him were shocking, and that made us think we had to give him the best chance we could. Sometimes these cases can be medical-related, which is why they end up so thin, but Bruce had basically been starved.
"We had to start feeding him straight away, but it was very much a case of doing so little and often because the biggest mistake you can make is overfeeding them as their body can't process it and they become ill.
"It was just a case of very small meals every two hours of really good quality food initially. That was around the clock for the first week or so.
"Then after that we were able to take off until we got him to normal weight, which took around three months to get to.
"Considering what he'd been through, he was really affectionate with everybody. The more he ate, the more he turned into a bull in a china shop."
Following months of rehabilitation, the pup found his forever home when an experienced dog-owning couple came forward to foster him near the centre.
The recovery process wasn't straightforward, as he needed surgery to fix a torn knee ligament and treatment on his spinal nerves, as well as to adapt to his new life at home.
"His new owners are absolutely lovely," Ms White added.
"They had a rescue dog before, and he has been a bit of a challenge for them, but they get him and understand him and manage those quirks.
"Now he is in an environment where he feels safe, and he's actually displaying that he can be reactive to new people, especially men, which makes me think that there has been some kind of abuse in his past.
"It was an emotional goodbye for us because he really got under all of our skin but we were really happy for him."
Ms White founded the centre in 2009, and its team of around 20 volunteers have helped countless dogs. However, the cost-of-living crisis has threatened its future.
The business has been able to secure a year's extension at its current site from a property developer, but Ms White admits eventually they need to find a more secure base.
She said: "We don't get any kind of government funding or any support so every bit of money that is donated goes directly to the dogs.
"The last couple of years, as the cost of living has gone up, has affected us in terms of donations which have gone down because people are struggling, but everything else, such as costs and vet bills have gone up.
"We've really noticed in the last two years people who were sending five pounds a month or two pounds a month have had to cancel those regular donations because they are struggling, and we completely understand that."
"Unfortunately, a lot of people are abandoning their dogs or they're bringing them to us or they're dumping them with ongoing medical issues that we then face the cost of covering our debt.
"So it's a difficult time. I spoke to my vets recently and we are £10,000 in our latest vet bill which is only for a couple of dogs as one needed surgery and pretty much all of the dogs need to be neutered.
"But once they walk through that gate, they are 100% our commitment and responsibility."