Starving two-month-old puppy rescued from rubbish dump

Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley Chloe Henley

Six months ago Peso was starving, tied to a post on a rubbish dump in the Philippines and surviving on a diet of one snail a day.

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Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley

Today the 'perfect' puppy is fit and healthy in Great Yarmouth after being saved by a pair of travellers who refused to leave his side.

Paramedic Chloe Henley and security worker Alex Jewkes were touring Asia in January when they heard the young Aspin howling from their hostel room.

He was scared and malnourished in "appalling" conditions, and the pair persuaded his owner to let them take the pup, who they named Peso after the local currency.

"We were staying in a hostel and woke up and heard this screeching sound," said Miss Henley, 24.

Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley

"It sounded like a dog in pain so we looked out of the window and saw this puppy tied to a post in a construction yard.

"There was broken glass and plastic bottles everywhere - he was in a rubbish pile basically."

Mr Jewkes gathered Peso up, cuddled him and gave him water, which was mocked by nearby workers.

"He was tied up and humiliated," said Mr Jewkes.

Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley Peso the puppy. Photo: Chloe Henley

Distraught at the state of the puppy, the pair decided to rescue him.

"The culture over there is very different and they don't really look after dogs - they are all street dogs," said Miss Henley.

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"We couldn't face the thought he would be left there to go through bins.

Peso the puppy. Picture: Chloe Henley Peso the puppy. Picture: Chloe Henley

"He needs love so to just drop him off without a clue if he was going to survive wasn't really an option."

A vet told the couple Peso was half the weight he should be at two-months old and could have died.

Despite having a flight to Australia booked, they abandoned the rest of their tour to care for Peso. They thought it would take a week to get him to England, but it ended up costing four months and thousands of pounds.

"We didn't have much money left so it was quite a gamble," said Mr Jewkes, 28. "By then we had got to know Peso the character. We were going to put him up on board with a vet but he would have been in a three foot by three foot cage for three months. We thought that is not an option either.

Peso the puppy. Picture: Chloe Henley Peso the puppy. Picture: Chloe Henley

"We had spent a month with him and he is incredibly clever."

After a plea for help generous donors raised £5,200 to get Peso healthy and bring him to the UK.

He had to wait three months for a rabies vaccine and needed blood tests carried to England. He arrived in the country on May 19 but has been in quarantine since then.

"We went to pick him up at 9am on Monday morning," added Mr Jewkes. "It was absolutely incredible. His mind was blown getting out of that cage and he has been running around a field all day.

"He is the perfect dog. Because of the circumstances in which we found him he appreciates everything."

Now back in Great Yarmouth, the pair have said people who donated to Peso's plight had saved his life.

"It blew our minds," said Miss Henley. "This is a dog people haven't met and they are giving £20 out of their wages to help him.

"It really touched us. Those people have saved his life."