The owner of a rabbit which has been mistaken for a dog owing to its size is looking to get her pet back into shape.

Zeus, thought to be a Californian breed, weighs in at 8.2kg - the same as a one-year-old child, pet charity PDSA said.

His companion Nala, a Lionhead, is 900g overweight and owner Sharon Close, of Leicester, took in the pair after finding them abandoned five years ago.

The 46-year-old is looking to help the rabbits shift the pounds as part of the PDSA Pet Fit Club competition.

Both Zeus and Nala are very fond of food and absolutely love Ryvita crackers

She said: "Both Zeus and Nala are very fond of food and absolutely love Ryvita crackers. I also feed them bags of salad, spinach and treats, which I hide in their hay."

"When they were found in the park, it was freezing and they weren't in great condition. They'd had a tough start in life and I suppose I wanted to compensate for that."

"Zeus is absolutely huge now, I can't lift him any more. He's just not interested in exercising or playing, even when I let him out in the garden. He just sits there.

One time I took him out into the front garden and a neighbour said 'shouldn't that dog be on a lead?'

"One time I took him out into the front garden and a neighbour said 'shouldn't that dog be on a lead?' When I told her he was a rabbit her jaw nearly hit the floor."

The plan is to make slow adjustments to the rabbits' lifestyle to help them slim down - and Ms Close has entered them into the competition to jump-start her rabbits' health kick.

Rae Andrew, from the Leicester Pet Hospital, said: "Zeus is the biggest rabbit we've ever seen, he's absolutely enormous."

"However, even small changes to an obese pet's diet and exercise regime can have a big impact and potentially help them live longer."

The Pet Fit competition will see 15 overweight dogs, cats and rabbits selected to be given a diet and exercise programme by vets.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.