Adorable puppy 'thought he was a cat' after being saved and brought up with kittens in a Blackpool cat rescue

Rodney the Staffordshire bull terrier and lurcher cross-breed was taken in by the Fylde Coast Cats rescue on Newhouse Road when he was just six weeks old.

The rescue was alerted by one of its supporters who noticed the pup being flogged online as a potential hunting dog at the start of this month. He was later picked up by a member of the charity who posed as a potential buyer.

Fylde Coast Cats founder Kim Millard said: "I think he thought he was a cat a lot of the time and had to learn to be a puppy, having been a jittery wreck when I picked him up. He was covered in fleas, full of worms and terrified of the world.

"We posed as a buyer, which may be morally questionable, but in this case I think it was necessary, Our priority was getting him out as quickly as we could.

"He had quite clearly just been bred for profit. Bull lurchers are a desirable mix if you're looking at hunting hares, which is illegal but that doesn't stop people. Because these dogs are very intelligent, they can be really dangerous if people don't know what they're getting into."

Rodney was adopted by a vet nurse from the Veterinary Health Centre in Lytham after she fell in love with him when he was brought in for a check-up. He moved into his new home on Sunday.

Kim said: "To start with, Rodney was really frightened and really clingy, but by the time he left he was really playful. He would play with the kittens, but most of the time he just wanted to sleep on your lap. He's a really darling boy."