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Emaciated dog saved from abandoned home

Emily Ford
BBC News, Southampton
Utilita A picture of Tilly when she was found. Her head is poking out from the side of a door and she is dramatically skinnier. The bones of her spine can be seen under her skin, her face is drawn and her eyes are sunken. She is stained and looks scared.Utilita
Engineers found Tilly surrounded by rubbish and her own waste

A dog found emaciated and starving in an abandoned home is now "thriving" after she was rescued by workers.

Tilly was discovered surrounded by rubbish and her own waste when engineers for Utilita Energy were sent to check the property in Stoke, Staffordshire, in April.

Shaun Dollamore, who was the manager on call for the firm at the time, has since adopted her and said she had made a "remarkable recovery".

"That picture of her, when she first put her head through the door - those eyes were pleading for help," Mr Dollamore, from Gosport, Hampshire, explained.

Tilly is enjoying her new life

He said engineers reported hearing whimpering before finding Tilly behind a door, "knee-deep in rubbish", stained and starving.

She was taken a local vets where they said she weighed 3st 3lb (21kg) and could have been alone "for weeks".

Mr Dollamore said Tilly was at risk of being euthanised if she failed to make it through the night on a drip.

"That night I tossed and turned. My heart took over, I thought 'I have to do something...' and decided I was going to adopt her," he said.

Utilita Tilly is standing in a grey patio area looking slightly away from the camera. She has a white short fur coat and her face looks like a mixture of a Staffordshire bull terrier and boxer. She has a red harness around her chest with a black lead clipped to the top of it. Her mouth is slightly open like she is smiling and panting. In the background are a number of people standing in groups as though they are talking to each other at an event.Utilita
Tilly was rescued almost three months ago but has made a "remarkable recovery"

The team at Utilita raised more than £600 towards vet bills and Tilly started to get stronger.

Mr Dollamore said the RSPCA was contacted and there was a police investigation but the outcome was not disclosed to him.

He continued: "As a field engineer we go out to all sorts of places and the things we come across in real life can be heartbreaking. Tilly is an example of that.

"The vets named her Zara to start with, but as soon as I decided I was going to rescue her she became Tilly, which is abbreviated from Utilita."

Utilita Tilly is sat looking away from the camera wearing her red harness. Shaun Dollamore is crouched next to her, he has his hands around her face affectionately and is leaning in to kiss the top of her head. Shaun has short dark blonde hair and wears a navy blue polo shirt with jeans and tan brown leather deck shows. In the background there are people sat around a table talking.Utilita
Shaun Dollamore said Tilly had a "gentle heart" and was thriving in her new home

She is believed to be between four and nine years old and a mix of a boxer, Staffordshire bull terrier and American bulldog.

She is now living with Mr Dollamore and his wife, as well as their 12-year-old dog Toby.

"I can't thank the guys at work enough," Mr Dollamore added.

"She has absolutely captured our hearts. I know I've absolutely done the right thing."

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