A dog that was "left to die" in Crane Park last year has made a full recovery and is now an official part of a Twickenham veterinary team.

Sticky Toffee Pudding weighed just 11kg, was unable to walk and just hours from death in September 2014 when she was rescued and taken to Medivet, in Heath Road.

Toffee, thought to be a boxer and Labrador cross, now weighs a healthy 26kg and lead vet Sarah Baig, 34, said she has become a vital part of the team as its official stress reliever.

Dr Baig said: "When we go on breaks we don’t sit at the table. We lay down with the dog and she gives you a cuddle. It’s a really stressful job and it really helps."

Jessica Harding, 23, student veterinary nurse and practice coordinator said: "She is a blessing on a hectic day, a Toffee cuddle is just the thing you need to recharge."

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Lead vet Sarah Baig with the team's official "stress reliever"

Dr Baig said Toffee, who is thought to be about three years old, still has physical scars from wounds sustained before she was rescued.

She said: "There was one that I suspect is probably from being locked up in a shed or somewhere without any bedding and because she was so skinny, it looked like pressure sores.

"Obviously, they could have been from being hurt. I had never seen something so terrible and none of my colleagues had.

"Most of my colleagues were concerned about me because I was getting quite attached to her and we didn’t think she was going to make it."

She added: "She is generally a trusting and loving dog, which makes it even harder to believe that someone would abandon her."

Medivet Twickenham work with Animal Rescue and Care Twickenham and Hounslow Animal Welfare Society and have raised more than £1,500 in the past year for local charities, make annual contributions to support the Rumba Foundations and have raised £5,000 for the Wilderness Foundation.