A COUPLE duped into buying what they were told was a nine-week-old pup saved his life by paying up and taking him to a dog rescue.

Tiny French bulldog George was actually around five weeks old and is thought to have come from a puppy farm.

When he was taken in by SNDogs it was discovered he had a cleft palate and was suffering from malnutrition.

His foster carer Clare Stephens said: “When we first got him he only weighed 500g, he was extremely small, he literally fit in the palm of your hand. 

“He was very malnourished and very weak. His bones were protruding quite a lot. 

“We got specialist puppy milk from the vets and I have to feed him around every two hours with a syringe. It’s like having a baby all over again.”

She explained: “He was handed in to us by a lovely young couple who had bought him as a nine-week-old French bulldog. 

“Unfortunately when they went to collect him they realised that was not the case at all, they’d been spun quite a lot of lies by the person who had him.”

She stressed the couple didn’t know he could have been from a farm.

“They thought they were buying him from a kennel club breeder but it turned out not to be that way. 

“They paid quite a lot of money for him because they knew that he needed help. Instead of saying they didn’t want him or not paying the price, they paid the money. They brought him down and handed him in to us which is lovely. They saved his life.”

George’s abnormality will have to be corrected with an operation before he is handed over to a family.

The charity expects it to cost in the region of £1,500 and knows it will need to raise the money.

Clare said:  “Once he’s had that operation, he’ll be a fully functioning little dog. He won’t necessarily need any further treatment or anything.

“He will probably always be quite small for his breed but I’m hopeful he’ll be fine. 

“So he won’t need a specialist home, he’ll just need a home like any other rescue dog that’s going to love him and nurture him.”

SNDogs operates a network of foster homes in Swindon for rescued and unwanted dogs in need of adoption. Visit sndogs.uk for more.