A dog found wandering around a south Manchester tram stop is now being given medical care after she was taken in by a new family.

Eight-year-old Rosie was found looking 'lost and in pain' at St Werburgh's Road Metrolink stop on Monday morning (February 17).

A kind Samaritan found the St. Bernard dog and posted on social media in order to try and find her owners - she stayed with the dog until assistance came.

Claire Smith, who lives nearby in Chorlton, discovered the post and felt compelled to help.

“I saw the post on Facebook about somebody finding a dog on the platform, so I just jumped in the car and went down to help," Claire told the Manchester Evening News.

"She was visibly not very well looked after with sores on her nose and all over her legs.

"In that time, my mum totally fell for her and decided should she need it she had a home with her."

Claire then took Rosie to her house to wait for Marie Kilcourse, a woman she knew who could scan her microchip to find who she belonged to.

"Marie scanned her and the registered owners were contacted and passed my information," Claire adds.

"We discovered she had lived in her owners garden since she was little over 12 months old, as she grew too big for their upstairs flat and moulted loads.

"We explained that she was in desperate need of vet treatment and living outside wasn't fair on a dog her age.

"The owners agreed to sign over ownership to my parents. They didn't seem like bad people, they were just very unknowing to what her needs were and what implications her living outside could have on her life."

After being checked over, vets discovered Rosie has severe infections in both ears and will require a week of antibiotics before being reassessed.

She also had infected pressure sores on her legs and paws from lying on a hard surface and a large cut to her nose which is believed to have been caused by repeatedly pushing her nose through the fence in her yard.

Vets also found what they hope to be a cyst that will need to be surgically removed.

Further blood tests, injections and spaying will need to happen too.

To help cover medical costs for Rosie, her new owners have set up a fund-raising page.

"We have set up the page to help with her vet fees," Claire added.

"Due to her infections and the operation she will need to remove the cyst on her side, this isn't going to be a small fee as she's a giant breed.

"Although my parents are happy to cover her fees for whatever time she has left, we think they deserve a little help in covering this."

Claire says that people need to be more aware of the dangers of leaving pets to live outdoors.

"There are unfortunately too many cases of dogs being abandoned, especially with bigger breeds," she says.

"People would have seen the movie Beethoven and flooded to get these cute little puppies without thinking longterm.

"But they get big. Rosie is 55.5kg and that's underweight for her according to the vets.

"To look at her, she looks okay but when you feel past the fur and skin you can feel her spine and ribs.

"People don't realise how much this breed can moult if not correctly groomed and they can cost a fortune to feed.

"Don't get me wrong, she was loved by her family just not in the correct way she should have been and she had become too big to live in their home.

"Once we explained this, they accepted it wasn't fair and let her go to a family home to live out whatever time she has left in a loving family home."

Rosie, who has been to the groomers since, has already become loved by her new family and particularly enjoys snuggles in the living room.

"She will spend whatever time she has left in a loving family home where she will never sleep outside," Claire adds.

"She will enjoy holidays to my parents' caravan in Wales every weekend.

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"I just want to say a massive thank you to the lady who stayed with her.

"So many people walked past and ignored her but this one lady stopped her day and waited with her until help arrived.

"She's amazingly loving and deserves a medal."

To donate to the fund-raising page for Rosie, click here.