Malnourished puppy with deformed legs suffered extreme pain

Cricket has already gained 3kg and is starting to walk normally again now he's being cared for by a foster family. Photo / Supplied

A five month old puppy was found so badly malnourished that his bones had stopped growing and he couldn't move.

Hamilton SPCA says it is one of the worst cases of Carpal Flexural Deformity it has ever seen and was most likely caused from a being starved at a young age.

Hamilton SPCA centre manager Laura Vander Kley said staff were absolutely shocked when an SPCA inspector brought the mixed breed pup into the centre at the end of August after being picked up by the Waikato District Council's animal control.

Cricket's bones weren't growing correctly, his wrists were curled and buckled over and he was in extreme pain.

The five-month-old pup was malnourished and couldn't stand due to his wrists being curled over when he was picked up by an SPCA inspector at the end of August. Photo / File

"The first day he couldn't stand. He actually couldn't stand and I think that's because he had no nutrition on board. He was literally a walking skeleton. It was so incredibly upsetting for everyone that saw him."

Cricket weighed just 4.9kg when he arrived at the centre - just a third of what his weight should have been.

A few weeks after being treated at the SPCA Cricket was able to walk again and his now being fostered so he can continue to put on weight and regain strength in his legs.

He's now weighing 7.5kg and was continuing to regain weight and strength in his legs.

"He's starting to walk like a normal dog. it's amazing."

Cricket was malnourished, causing his bones to deform and his wrists to curl over. Photo / Supplied

Vander Kley said unfortunately there would be no justice for Cricket as SPCA Inspectors and been unable to locate Cricket's owner. He was not microchipped.

"It was just such a shocking case that came through and he's such a cool dude and I feel like we are not going to be able to prosecute for him so we want to rally support in terms of that this is not okay that this kind of stuff happens. How could you possibly have an animal that looked like that."

Vander Kley said foster parents were so vital to the centre and helped provide a loving environment for the traumatised animals while they recovered.

"It's really horrific for any animal lover including our foster parents to see an animal like this so to get there and be "I'm going to do something about it" is amazing.

Cricket still had a long road to recovery, but Vander Kley was hopeful the friendly pup would be ready for adoption within the next couple of months.