Help us save dogs like Ralph

STARVING alsatian Ralph was close to death when he arrived at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Abandoned and living as a stray, the four-year-old was found wandering the streets.

His skinny, hairless, sore-covered body was a shock even to the long-serving staff at Battersea.

They worked around the clock to save his life as he battled a severe bacterial infection and eye condition – and needed an operation for a damaged ear.

After a month he was taken home by Wendy Tung, 60, a volunteer who fosters dogs to help them recover.

They formed such a close bond, she and her husband Ka-sing, 62, ended up adopting him four years ago.

The grandmother, from

Orpington, Kent, said:

“Ralph is a wonderful dog. He brings me companionship and so much love and affection. Every day I think how lucky I am to have him.

“He had such a difficult start in life, but he has always been loving, gentle and trusting. He’s an absolute joy. When I first brought him home he was still a very poorly dog, which was upsetting to see. There was no muscle, it was just bone.

“He didn’t want to go out in the garden without me. I think he was terrified of being locked out in the cold again. I think he must have been shut in a yard and left outside alone in the past.

“Now, four years later, he is like a totally different dog. He is a real gentleman. He’s so well mannered. He never asks for anything. He never complains. It is because of Battersea that he got his second chance at life.”

Wendy is urging Sunday People readers to back our Help A Dog This Xmas appeal, in association with Battersea’s In From The Cold Campaign.

Its aim is to help Battersea make sure dogs like Ralph are cared for until they find a loving new home.