A DOG found starved and injured near Tadcaster last year has been nursed back to health.

Billy, thought to be about seven years old, was found wandering in Healaugh by Selby District Council’s dog warden, Bill Parker.

Billy, a collie cross, was emaciated, suffering with an untreated broken leg, and was described as one of the most shocking cases the dog warden had ever seen. He was nursed back to health at Clipsall Wood Boarding Kennels in Womersley, before he was re-homed with an elderly couple in Bolton Percy.

Bill said the couple had been sending photographs of Billy’s progress, and he was now full of life. “The couple took him in last April when he was still skin and bones, and at first they had difficulty taking him for walks because he didn’t want to leave any environment where there was food. But he’s healthy and full of life now. It just goes to show that with a little bit of help and dedication from the very kind people who adopted him, what a nice dog he is now.”

Speaking to The Press last year, Bill said: “He had almost no muscle left on his body, just skin and bones. It’s one of the most shocking cases I’ve ever seen.

“It’s shocking that anyone would let an animal get into this state. It’s a case of continuous starvation and abuse. It’s not something that has happened overnight.”