Pyrenean Mountain Dog Brody finds forever home despite being ‘size of small polar bear’

A dog the ‘size of small polar bear’ is now living his best life in Cornwall after finding his forever home. Brody, a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, is enjoying spending time at the beach and has a new-found love for clotted cream after relocating to the south west.

After being put up for adoption when his family who could "no longer give him the attention he deserved", finding the right home for the 10 stone fur ball was always going to be a big challenge. However, shelter Animal Concern Cumbria, who took him in, put out a nationwide appeal in December and the offers flooded in.

Animal rehoming manager Lauren Pickthall, 32, said the shelter received 'hundreds' of requests for the huge six-year-old pooch, who weighs a whopping 66kg, stands six feet tall on his hind legs and can munch his way through 1kg of dog biscuits in a single day.

However, it was Steve White, 59, and his wife Helen, 63, who were the lucky couple picked out by staff - due, in part, to their big half acre garden. The animal-mad pair were also chosen by the shelter for having experience looking after Pyreneans.

The couple drove 440 miles each way from their home in St Austell, in Cornwall, to pick up Brody, saying "he was more than worth it". They said Brody has "filled the void" they had after their previous Pyrenean, called Wilson, died aged 13 in October last year.

Helen said: "When Wilson died we were looking to get another Pyrenean like him. I contacted a friend of mine in the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain to see if they had any rescuses which needed a new home. That's when she told me about Brody."

Steve said at first they thought they had "no chance" of getting him after seeing all the fuss made about him on social media. But they filled in the adoption application and two weeks later they received an email from the shelter asking to conduct a video call so they could check if their house was big enough to fit Brody.

Steve said: "Following the call, they said they were happy for us to consider adopting him. So we organised a time to travel up and visit him at the shelter."

Steve and Helen travelled up to Cumbria on January 1 and spent two days with Brody - including taking him for a walk up fells in Wasdale - before officially adopting him on January 3.

Helen said: "We fell in love straight away. The first time we met him at the shelter he was all over us, he is just so friendly. After spending two days with Brody, we agreed to adopt him. Then on the morning of January 3, we signed the official papers and drove him home."

Three weeks on and the couple say Brody has "settled in really well to his new home". Steve said: "We have chickens, a Canadian Goose, and a rabbit, and he is really friendly with all of them. He likes snooping around the garden and really loves neck scratches.

"In fact, the day we brought him home he jumped straight into our duck pond and came out green, covered in weeds. He also loves going to the beach and running on the sand to chase a tennis ball and paddling in streams.

"He doesn't like the sea much as he can't drink from it because it's salty. Surprisingly Brody also hates the rain, no matter how much you try to get him out the house he will just stand in the doorway. We have also found out he is a sucker for clotted cream, we don't give him gobs full but he will happily lick a finished tub clean.”

Pyrenean Mountain Dog's were bred to be livestock guardians used to protect flocks from wolves and bears. Lauren said: "Safe to say, he’s starting the year exactly where he belongs."

Steve has since started an Instagram account for Brody - Brody_thebigdog - for which those who want to follow his journey can.