Alex was the skinniest dog the Christchurch SPCA staff had ever seen when they picked him up — and he was hanging on by a thread.
The good news is he's making a glorious comeback and is ready for his forever home, as Seven Sharp reporter Rachel Parkin discovered.
It started as a fairly routine inspection.
"We received a call about a skinny dog at an address," said SPCA inspector Jeanee Waiari.
What she found was far from routine – Alex was near death.
"I remember looking through the window and seeing him curled up in the corner of the room — he was surrounded by water and faeces. He couldn't get up, he couldn't lift his head and he wasn't barking or anything but he was wagging his tail so we knew he was still alive and that we had to act really quickly," Waiari said.
Alex was a bag of bones.
"Yep, he is the skinniest dog I've seen, alive," Waiari said with a sigh. "He looked like a skeleton and even picking him up felt like you weren't carrying much, he only weighed 18 kg. He was so weak and lethargic."
The next 24 hours were crucial. The SPCA veterinarian team worked around the clock to keep Alex alive. One vet even took him home for the night.
When staff couldn't be with Alex they played footage of squirrels on YouTube. Alex couldn't bear to be alone.
He was also so emaciated, that the risk of refeeding syndrome was high.
"[If] you feed them too fast they can get an electrolyte imbalance, so you have to do it really slowly... it can be fatal," Waiari explained.
"For weeks we were just kind of monitoring day by day and seeing how he goes."
But as days passed, hope grew that Alex might just make it.
After three weeks of countless injections, physiotherapy sessions and snuggles, Alex was ready for a foster home.
Fast-forward three months and he's a new dog.
Cantering over, he excitedly nuzzled me, coating my black jeans in white hair and drowning my hands – and cheeks when he could – in slobber.
The camera didn't bother him. Camera operator Jason got the same cuddle treatment.
One thing is clear — Alex lives for affection.
"He loves people," foster mum Morgan Patterson explained with a smile.
It's fair to say, she's smitten. Her phone is full of photos of Alex.
"It's absolutely... it's just ... it makes your heart sing," she said, choking up. "Every dog is special, but Alex is really special."
After such a rough time, he's had VIP treatment.
Flush with blankets and cushions, his crate sits in the lounge. There's also a radio on the shelf, ready to soothe him to sleep.
Alex doesn't watch squirrels anymore, Patterson said, but he does need classical lullabies.
His weight has also more than doubled from 18kg to 37kg. He's learning to go for walks and he loves to play.
All Alex needs now is a forever home.
If you have the love to match his and the means to support him (and no young children or pets — he's just getting used to company), the SPCA is all ears.
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