An emaciated dog and her litter of starving puppies are being nursed back to health after they were rescued from a house by shocked volunteers.

American bulldog Daisy May and nine of her offspring were discovered close to death at the property in Canterbury.

Another puppy had already died from suspected malnutrition.

The owner of the dogs had reportedly left them at the house with a young woman, promising to return, but he never did.

When the puppy died, the woman alerted her mum, who in turn called Guardian Angels Dog Rescue.

Volunteers from the not-for-profit organisation went to the house and took Daisy May and the nine remaining puppies into their care.

Tragically, one of the litter - who they called Annie - died on Sunday, eight days after the dogs were rescued.

But Daisy May - who is thought to be three years old - and the rest of her puppies continue to make drastic improvements.

Christine Recton, who co-founded Guardian Angels, recalled the traumatic rescue.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

“Daisy May was like a skeleton - just a bag of bones.

“She clearly hadn’t eaten in ages and was so emaciated it was hard to even tell what breed she was.

"How she'll ever trust humans again, I don't know.

“She had no milk so the puppies were also starving, and one had sadly died.

“They were screaming for hours.”

After the dogs were signed over to the Guardian Angels, Mrs Recton called the RSPCA to alert the charity to the situation.

It was agreed the dogs would stay with Guardian Angels, and KentOnline understands it is unlikely any prosecution for neglect will be pursued.

In the meantime, Daisy May and the puppies are being looked after by foster carers as they continue their road to recovery.

Mrs Recton said: “Daisy May put on 4kg in under a week and is having six meals a day.

“We’ve taken her and the puppies to the vets, and they’ll soon be having their vaccinations, and getting chipped.

“When they’re fit and well enough we’ll look at finding them homes. It’ll probably be when they’re between 10 to 12 weeks old.

“Fingers crossed we can find Daisy May a home, too.”

Guardian Angels typically faces vets bills of about £2,500 a month, and relies on donations to fund treatment and routine procedures such as micro-chipping and neutering.

It says supporters have given generously to help the puppies, which are a litter of seven boys and one girl and thought to be a cross between an American bulldog and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Mrs Recton said: “We can’t thank everyone enough for the support they’ve given.

“Without them we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”

To donate to Guardian Angels Dog Rescue, click here.