Victor is hardly recognizable from the dog he was a little more than a month ago.

The brown-and-white “pit bull” up for adoption with the Lucas County Pit Crew has doubled in weight. He was barely more than skin and bones when found Oct. 4 just after being dumped in a South Toledo alley with a filthy crate.

“He looks fantastic,” said Jean Keating, executive director of the “pit bull” rescue. “He came around awfully quick, considering.”

Victor, formerly called Frank at the Lucas County Canine Care & Control, weighs about 60 pounds. He was just 29 pounds when found and essentially inches from death.

Other than simply gaining weight, the rescue treated Victor for intestinal worms and a number of skin infections. The wounds on his body were primarily pressure sores from having no fat or muscle mass and resting directly on his bones.

“He’s still building up muscle,” Ms. Keating said. “He’s a little nervous around new people yet. We’re just starting to kind of bring him out and expose him to new things.”

Victor was understandably distrustful of people initially but blossomed in his foster home. He remains a little cautious at first before quickly warming up to new people.

Victor was not the first, nor was he the last emaciated dog to arrive at the county shelter recently.

“We get emaciated dogs in pretty frequently throughout the year. It’s not seasonal,” Director Julie Lyle said.

The shelter has nine dogs that arrived very skinny and are in various stages of putting on weight for potential adoption or transfer to rescue.

For example, a dog dubbed Peanut arrived Oct. 3 as a stray from the 1800 block of Toledo’s Genesee Street with her ribs, spine, and hip bones clearly showing. She has filled out at the shelter and is now looking for a rescue group to take her in.

Emaciation can cause other complications such as organ damage, heart murmurs, and anemia. Some of them have to be treated with antibiotics or receive intravenous fluids.

“It’s time consuming and labor intensive,” Ms. Lyle said. “If they are willing to eat and can stand up, generally we will give it a try.”

Caring for emaciated canines isn’t necessarily expensive, but it does consume resources. Their lack of natural padding means the dogs go through a lot of blankets, sheets, towels, and other bedding. They also devour the shelter’s stock of canned food and require additional staff time for their care.

Donations of bedding material and canned food of any kind will help these dogs.

“Some of these guys are pretty particular about what they’ll eat, so it’s nice to have a variety,” Ms. Lyle said. “With winter coming, it’s also helpful to have warming pads and hot water bottles.”

Donations to the general fund or Cutie’s Fund, which helps pay for medical care, are also appreciated.

All donations are tax-deductible and may be made in person or mailed to Lucas County Canine Care & Control, 410 S. Erie St., Toledo, OH 43604. Checks should be made payable to Lucas County Canine Care & Control, with “Cutie’s Fund” specified on the memo line if donating specifically to that fund. Cutie’s Fund donations can also be made online at lucascountydogs.com/​donate/​cuties-fund.

Contact Alexandra Mester at amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published November 14, 2015, 5:00 a.m.