A starved dog rescued by a Dunedin family has been given the name of a god and a diet of organic beef.
SPCA Otago general manager Sophie McSkimming said inspectors from the charity found an emaciated great dane-cross dog in a yard in North Otago late last year.
The puppy was found with seven of his siblings in a similar state of health - ''a step away from death''.
The skinny dog looked like a ''toast rack'' because of the prominence of his vertebrae, she said.
''You could see every bone and he was covered in kennel sores.''
His tail had to be surgically amputated because of the sores on it, Ms McSkimming said.
At the shelter in Dunedin, the inspectors named him Blue and he gained 10kg in six weeks.
After his recovery, a Dunedin family, who did not want to be named, adopted him on June 30.
The father said his children wanted to name ''the big puppy'' Hercules but decided on the simpler superhero name Thor.
Thor was ''very excitable and still growing'' and eating a diet including ''organic beef, heart and liver''.
Once he acclimatised to eating steak, he never looked back, the father said.
The big dog was allowed to sleep on the children's bed at night but initially had to be encouraged to get on.
''I had to lift him up,'' the father said.
After one night on the bed, the ''friendly'' dog needed no further encouragement to climb on family members' beds to sleep, he said.
Ms McSkimming said SPCA Cupcake Day is on Monday and the charity was encouraging people to register, bake and sell treats.
More than twice as many people had registered for the charity event in Otago than last year, she said.
She hope the registrations would equate to twice as much money being raised to help pay for the rebuild of the shelter in Opoho.
The rebuild of the education centre was progressing well, she said. It was the first of three facilities being rebuilt at the site.
The demolition of the dog quarantine area would begin on Tuesday, she said.
