A BORDER collie kept in appalling conditions has found a loving new home.

Mac was rescued by the RSPCA alongside 36 other dogs after being found inside a squalid barn with faeces, plastic bags and straw strewn across the floor in Bacup.

Paul Alton, 51, of Trice Barn Farm, was convicted of neglecting to ‘provide the proper care’ to his dogs at Burnley Magistrates’ Court last week.

He was banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

But Mac’s luck turned around when he was put up for adoption and was given a new life with a family.

New owner Karen Bruce said the pooch was ‘a different animal’ from when she first saw him.

The retired teacher said: “He was about 12kgs when we first got him. He was so pathetic.

“He had never been in a car before and he could not bark.

“He did not know what to do with toys and balls.

“But now he is 17kgs which is about right for a collie, and he has a nice shiny coat.

“Mac is great and he just wants to please all of the time. He just gets on with things now although he does not like pigeons.

“Mac is everybody’s friend and if you make eye contact with him, that is it. But he does not jump up.”

Because of the conditions Mac was kept in, it is not possible to tell exactly how old he is.

But Karen, who lives in Durham, said she believed he was around two because of his puppy-like spirit.

She said: “He is the perfect addition to our family.”