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Local dog at risk of being put down due to obesity finds new home and loses five stone

Cheshire Pet vet Edward Davies feared Philip may "have reached the end" when he examined the dog mid last year.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 14th January 2022

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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Gig review | DMA’s have Manc in their DNA, whether they know it or not

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Yes, we saw the crowds in Brixton, Leeds and so on, and they were also box office, no doubt – and we’re sure there’s plenty of bias coming in here – but DMA’s final night in Manchester was just magnificent on every level.

Still managing to bring a real Friday feeling even though it was a Sunday night following the protracted Valentine’s celebrations, when most were already dreading the inevitable Monday blues (morning, all), it felt like the perfect way to close out a weekend with everyone’s first love: music.

During a period when we’re all encouraged to be a little bit more sincere and spread pure positivity, seeing the sea of happy, smiling faces watching DMA’s on night two at the O2 Victoria Warehouse was just the injection we needed.

For starters, you can’t ask for much more than getting to hear not only Hills End from start to finish but ‘Lay Down’ live twice in one night. The limbs were just as mad the second time around, if not even more.

To quote a fan speaking in the comments under this video, for some, it was beyond good: “The best gig I’ve been to in my 45 years on this planet”, apparently.

Quite the bold statement, and while we’re not sure we’re quite ready to be so superlative just yet, hearing them play their debut album from cover to cover on its 10th anniversary did make for a perfect set and an “unreal night” as we’ve heard and seen so many remark in the hours since the gig.

One person wrote, “If the next album is good, these will be absolutely huge”, while another declared that they’re “the greatest on Earth” already.

Whatever point on the scale you land on, pretty much everyone almost universally agrees that their first record is still their best, even with all the bangers they’ve put out since.

One of the best moments of the entire nostalgia trip was when they bookended the show with ‘Timeless’ and played their usual extended outro with multiple repetitions of the chorus and a proper breakout, letting their instruments do the talking in a fast, frenetic flurry as the crowd thrashed around.

DMAs never let you down when it comes to a performance, and neither do Manc crowds.

DMA's O2 Victoria Warehouse review
dmas manchester live gig review
One of those where you saw way more arms in the air than phones. (Credit: Audio North)

And maybe that’s just it, as far as bands that come to this region and do well, the Sydney trio are one of the VERY best, vouched for by pretty much every mate and regular gig-goer whose opinion you trust implicitly; you can certainly add us onto that list.

Maybe it’s somehow to do with some of those Melbourne roots, too, as we’ve often heard the parallels drawn between the two cities, and they even asked if there was anyone in from ‘Melbs’ between songs – there was a notable cheer – or maybe it’s just some kind of uncalculable magic we can’t understand.

Either way, besides the ongoing rise of Aussie rock and Anzac bands doing very well around the UK in general, there is something very special about this particular indie outfit’s connection with the North West and Manchester, specifically.

Johnny, Tommy and Matt have all themselves cited it as a ‘second home’ throughout their career, having hit the ground running and finding a cult following here right from the off.

In fact, they admitted that the full touring band still regularly flies into Manchester first whenever they’re heading to the UK. Love that.

DMA's UK Hills End anniversary tour UK 10th anniversary
DMA's Manc gigs 2026
dmas vic warehouse mcr
‘Olympia’ and ‘Silver’ were also big standouts beyond the Hills End part of the setlist. (Credit: The Manc)

Perhaps labelling them part of the ‘Britpop revival’ is a bit reductive, but it certainly hasn’t done them any harm thus far, and conversely, it’s definitely done them plenty of favours here in Greater Manchester.

They’re not just adopted Brits who understand our history as a nation of audiophiles; they get our crowds and this city’s culture down to a tee.

Put simply, either through blind luck or divine intervention from the music gods, DMA’s are Mancs by proxy, and whether or not that means anything to them, it sure as sh*t means a whole lot to us.

Here’s to HE10, and we can’t wait for the next celebration in whatever form it comes.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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Pep Guardiola delivers important reminder about multiculturalism after Jim Ratcliffe controversy

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola speech about embracing culture after Jim Ratcliffe immigration comments

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has delivered an important message about the power of multiculturalism in his most recent press conference.

Guardiola’s comments come after the high-profile controversy surrounding his rival club across the city, Man United, whose co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, saw some of his recent remarks fall under major scrutiny.

In case you somehow missed it, the Failsworth-born British billionaire was heavily criticised after claiming he believes the UK has been “colonised by immigrants”.

Fast forward a couple of days, and while the club and the fan base are still dealing with the fallout of the story, Pep acknowledged the debate by reminding people that “embracing other cultures” makes for a “better society”.

Well put, Pep – in fact, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Although he didn’t reference the 74-year-old directly after being probed on the subject by journalists, the Man City boss reiterated that his time spent living and working across the world has only broadened his mind and enriched his life.

That goes for both his professional and personal spheres, by the way, as the Catalan coach has often spoken of his love for English culture and the Manc people, specifically.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup game against local side Salford City, Pep described the attitudes towards immigrants around the world as a “big problem” despite most people simply leaving their country in search of “a better life”.

He also drew attention to the fact that he, like so many others in football – a sporting industry loved the world round by people from all walks of life and that the likes of Ratcliffe directly benefit from – is an immigrant working and contributing to not just the game but the British economy by being here.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have since shared a public statement on their club website and across social media, reiterating to fans and supporters the world over that they are an “inclusive club”.

You can read their full response down below.

Man United release statement after controversy around Jim Ratcliffe comments on immigration
‘We will continue to represent our people, our city and our fans with purpose and pride.’

The INEOS chairman, CEO and minority stakeholder in Manchester United Football Club, has since apologised (at least in part) for his “choice of language” following the divisive interview with Sky News.

In a world where plenty of people are quick to pessimism, negativity and turn to division almost by default, Pep’s message is one echoed by so many and is one that we should all keep in mind.

And for anyone who needs a more light-hearted bit of content on their timeline this week, here’s what else Pep said in his pre-match presser…

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Featured Images — Hayters TV (screenshot via YouTube)

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