A 'SWEET and lovable' dog kept muzzled in a crate for two years needs a special home.

Five-year-old mastiff cross Bandit arrived at RSPCA Brent Knoll after being rescued by Inspector Miranda Albinson.

She said: “Poor Bandit was in a real state when he first came into our care having been signed over by his owners, who just couldn’t meet his needs.

“He’s a big dog but was underweight and had suffered significant hair loss around his back end as well as poor muscle tone, possibly caused by long-term malnutrition.

“His eyes were sunken and he was suffering from entropion, a painful condition in which the eyelid turns inwards causing the eyelashes to rub against the eye.

“He’d had a really tough and restricted life, having spent at least two years living in a muzzle and shut in a crate following an incident in which he attacked the resident cat.

"He was never given free access to the garden.”

At the RSPCA, Bandit put on 11kg, improved his muscle tone and had eye surgery.

Brent Knoll deputy manager Katy Darelli said: “Bandit’s experiences will stay with him for life so it’s really important that we find a special home for this sweet and lovable lad.

“He can be nervous meeting new people so we’d ask that his new owners continue working on socialisation training with him, including slow introductions with strangers in a controlled, safe and positive manner.

“Bandit has had very limited life experiences and has spent much of his life shut inside a crate so a lot of things in the outside world may be new to him.

"He may not have experienced being left home alone or been in a car, so it’s important that his adopters introduce these new experiences gradually and in a positive way.

“He’s always been happy being handled and coped well with vet visits, so we’d be keen that these positive experiences continue regularly in his new home to ensure he has a positive association with this.”

Bandit is a big, strong dog which cannot live with cats or other small animals and should go to an adult-only home.

He may need help with toilet training and adapting to life in a normal home environment and will need regular flea treatment due to an allergy.

Bandit can become frustrated and vocal when he sees other dogs, but is friendly and boisterous when he greets them.