Giant dog 'the size of a polar bear' new home in Cornwall

Brody - a white Pyrenean Mountain Dog - hit the headlines after he was taken in by Animal Concern Cumbria in December last year.

The huge pooch 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.

Lauren Pickthall, animal rehoming manager, is squashed by big boy Brody as he sits on her lap, unaware of his size. (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)

The six-year-old's previous owners had handed him in after saying they could "no longer give him the attention he deserved".

Animal rehoming manager Lauren Pickthall, 32, said the shelter received 'hundreds' of requests from dog lovers wanting to take him home.

But 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.

Steve and Helen have brought Brody home to St Austell (Image: William Dax / SWNS)

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 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 with Brody on the beach in Cornwall (Image: William Dax / SWNS)

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.

Staff at the dog rehoming charity say the 'good boy' - who is six years old - stands around 6 feet tall when on his hind legs and devours around 1 kg of dog biscuits a day. (Image: William Lailey / SWNS)

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 and Helen who have recently adopted Brody (Image: William Dax / SWNS)

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 - where those who want to follow his journey can do so.