AN ‘underweight’ dog was rehomed within 24-hours after images showing its gaunt body were published on Facebook.

Thomas Newton, from Northwich, said he was ‘shocked’ when he saw the dog in an overgrown garden in Winsford.

He decided to take action and took two pictures of the dog, which he then posted on Facebook. The post, which has since been deleted, began to go viral as hundreds of users began to share it.

“It was really crazy the amount of shares the post it just shown how many people cared and wanted to help,” Thomas, 24, said.

The following day an RSPCA inspector visited the property along with a member of the public who offered to rehome the dog.

With the owner’s co-operation the two took the dog, who is called Roxie, to Nun House Veterinary Surgery in Winsford.

Vickki Moran, the vet at the surgery, told the Guardian Roxie’s condition was not as bad as originally thought and was a ‘happy and friendly dog’.

She said: “She was very underweight but she wasn’t as bad as she originally looked in the photos.

“She was definitely underweight but it’s not really fair to say she hadn’t been fed at all. People need to understand there is a right way to feed animals.

“There is good food and bad food and sometimes it’s not easy to get it right.

“She was actually in a pretty good condition. She had some pressure sores from lying down but she didn’t have any fleas or anything like that.

“All we actually said was that she needed to be wormed and fed. She’s actually quite a happy and friendly dog.”

Roxie is now settling in her new home. The owner has asked not to be named.

A post on the Nun House Veterinary Surgery’s Facebook page said the original owners ‘fully cooperated’ and that Roxie was in ‘good hands’.

The post said Roxie is due back in a couple of weeks for a check-up to monitor her weight and will update the public on her progress.

The surgery also said it's ‘not worth the RSPCA pursuing a prosecution because conviction is unlikely’.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said they could not ‘confirm or deny’ whether a complaint had been made due to data protection reasons.

The spokesman said: “The charity will always look into, and if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare, but a lot of the time many issues will be dealt with by advice and education and it is not always appropriate to publicise this information for legal and data protection reasons.”