A dog abandoned in a cardboard box by the side of the road has been described as the ‘thinnest dog ever seen alive’ by the RSPCA after being starved for two months.

The Staffordshire cross, believed to be around two years old, weighed just 17.6lb – half the healthy weight for her breed – and was too weak to swallow any food or drink when she was found.

The animal, handed into an RSPCA centre in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, by a man who didn’t give his name was named ‘Hope’ by staff and had to be bound in bubble wrap just to keep her alive.

She spent several days on a drip and is now able to hold her head up and has slowly started eating and drinking.

Vet Anna Parry said: ‘I have spent eight years working at an RSPCA clinic in the past so I am no stranger to abused and neglected animals but this is the thinnest dog I have ever seen alive.

‘She weighs just 8kg and a healthy weight for her would be more like 16.

‘When she first arrived we had to wrap her in blankets and bubble wrap just to keep her warm as she could not maintain her temperate and although she is now off the drip and much more responsive she still has a long way to go.’

Hope, believed to be aged between one and two years old, was found in a cardboard box in a lay-by near a burger van at the side of the A370 near Hewish, Somerset, on May 16.

Spokeswoman Jo Barr said: ‘Hope was in a really bad condition and the vets didn’t think she would make it though the first night.

‘She must have been starved for months to be in that condition. She would have only had a few hours left to live if she wasn’t handed in.

‘She had to be picked up everywhere, she wasn’t able to walk or stand at all. She was in a collapsed state.

‘Hope can now stand but only for a short amount of time.’

RSPCA inspector John Norman is investigating and has appealed for information on the dog.

He said: ‘This poor creature was found in a terrible state, and it would seem that whoever allowed her to get like this simply tried to get rid of the problem by abandoning her as though she was rubbish.

‘I would urge anyone with information about this dog to contact the RSPCA cruelty and information line so we can find whoever is responsible and ensure there are no other animals in their possession in need of help.’

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 anyone found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal can face up to six months in prison and/or a £20,000 fine.

When Hope is well enough, she will be transferred to the RSPCA North Somerset Branch Brent Knoll Animal Centre.

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