When the RSPCA brought Shep the dog into the veterinary surgery at Sedbergh, staff could barely believe their eyes, reports Ellis Butcher.

The cowering, two-year-old Border Collie was hungry, thirsty, riddled with worms, missing most of his fur and had rotten teeth, after being tied to an oil drum on a farm for months.

Vet's wife Lisa Bramley, whose husband Jim works at the Preston and Bramley surgery in the village, immediately took pity on him, but was warned he might die within days.

Now after three years of tender, loving care, Shep is a star pupil at the village dog obedience classes, performed tricks for an audience during Sedbergh's Jubilee celebrations, and is due to be featured in a book about rescued pets.

"I think he was probably the worst dog we have ever seen," said Mrs Bramley, recalling the moment she clapped eyes on Shep.

"He could not stand up because he was so weak and was covered in diarrhoea and had to go on a drip for 24 hours".

The intention was for the Bramleys to nurse Shep back to health and then have him re-homed, but they quickly warmed to him.

"He also used to wet his bed and would wake up in the middle of the night screaming." Gradually Shep learned to trust the Bramleys.

"It just needed patience," she explained.

"We had to take things very gradually and praise him all the time when he did something right.

We could not scold him, or tell him off.

He got so attached to us that when we tried to re-home him, he was not keen on going."

So Shep stayed in Sedbergh and now lives alongside their three other dogs, Tilly, Rosie, and Kira.

Only last week, the pair headed off to Slough, Bucks, for a photo session after the National Canine Defence League decided Shep's story was worthy of inclusion in a book called Bridget Bones' Diary, which raises funds for the league.

The book tells the harrowing but heart-warming stories of several unwanted, unplanned or abandoned dogs, who through the kindness of their new owners have become bright-eyed and bushy tailed again.

Of the photo shoot, Mrs Bramley said: "He loved it.

He was so good, he did exactly what he was told and they want him to do a promotional photo for Winalot magazine."