A local Cheshire dog who was at risk of being put down due to obesity has found a new lease of life after shedding five stone.
Nine-year-old Philip the Springer Spaniel’s desperate owner didn’t know what to do after the pup had ballooned to 10st 5lbs – which was more than three times his recommended weight – from munching on too many cakes, biscuits, and other human food, before stopping eating and finding it extremely difficult to walk, CheshireLive reports.
Cheshire Pet vet Edward Davies feared Philip may “have reached the end” when he examined the dog mid last year.
“I’ve been a vet for 30 years and I’ve never seen a dog as overweight as Philip. It was amazing that his legs could hold him up at all, and he was so big it was hard to even examine him to find out what was wrong,” Mr Davies told CheshireLive.
“He could have had a football-sized mass in his abdomen, and we wouldn’t have felt it underneath all the fat – but his blood tests actually came back surprisingly clear.”
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Although Mr Davies said he thought Philip’s quality of life was “virtually non-existent”, the Holmes Chapel-based vet practice – which is a part of the My Family Vets family – said they’d “never want to put a dog to sleep when we feel we can treat and rehome it”.
Philip was adopted by Mr Davies and was put on special diet for six months.
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Credit: Cheshire Pet / My Family Vets
And now, Philip’s “tale is always wagging” and he loves to swim.
After a combination of replacing his usual sugary foods with a specially-tailored canine diet, and playing with Mr Davies’ other two dogs, going for long walks, and chasing balls and swimming in local reservoirs to build up stamina, Philip now weighs in at around 4st 10lbs.
Mr Davies added that Philip sould be down to the ideal weight before the end of the year, and that “his personality has really come out,” and it’s “lovely to see him happy.”
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“He’s such a friendly dog, and you just didn’t see that before.”
Featured Image – Cheshire Pet / My Family Vets
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
14th January 2022 
