Not short on love but very overweight, Bonnie went into the sanctuary weighing in at 55kg, and Cyrus at 45kg.

READ: Saving a pair of pampered pooches

Hills Pet Nutrition and Scottsdale Veterinary Services stepped in to help, guiding the dogs on their weight loss journey.

Finally, in November, the dogs were able to start the search for their forever home.

READ: Obese dogs ready for their forever home after weight loss journey

For Bonnie and Cyrus, it really was a Good Friday - being picked up and taken to their new home at Ranelagh in the south of the state, with new owners Cheryl and David Bingham.

Bonnie left the sanctuary weighing in at 34.7kg, while Cyrus weighed 34.9kg.

Cheryl and David were looking to fill a hole in their home after their beloved dog Jack passed away.

"Ever since that happened we decided we wanted another pair of dogs," Mrs Bingham said.

"When we decided the time was right it was immediately post COVID and there were no dogs for love or money anywhere it seemed.

"It just so happened that a friend at church told us about the [Savour Life page Bonnie and Cyrus were featured on] website and we started looking on there, saw these two and I know that my heart melted."

Deciding that they wanted the bonded pair of adult dogs, the adoption process began.

"They are lovely dogs, they've settled right in," Mrs Bingham said.

"They travelled so beautifully going back, they were so eager to be in the car, quite happy in the back - panting like steam trains.

"We only needed to stop for them twice, they were a bit pulling [on their leads] and they were so excited, but they travelled really well, right from the get go."

With just over a week in their new home, the pair are getting used to life with the Bingham's.

"We've discovered that Cyrus is very much a cuddle bunny, he's very much an attention seeker ... he has learnt that if he puts his paw on you he gets instant attention," Mrs Bingham said.

"We're treating them like you do, like you are when you bring home a baby - you don't do much with them in the first week, so life right now is very much dog park, eat and sleep.

"We can't say they are house trained yet, but they're dog park trained that's for sure.

"They're very very good - we've put a mattress at the end of our bed and they sleep on that, they knew from the very first night that was where they were meant to be."

Being that the dogs were extremely overweight, dinner time has been a challenge, but Mr Bingham said the dogs were learning and well behaved.

"They sit there and wait for their meals, they sit and wait to go out which is what we ask them to do," he said.

"They're attention seeking which means they're settling in, they're very much people dogs - if we leave a room they follow because they want to know where we are."

Mrs Bingham said they couldn't be happier together.

"We're fortunate we live in quite a big house, so two big dogs in a big house, a big space - there is room for us all, and is rather a happy combination," she said.

It's a happy ending for all involved, according to North East Animal Sanctuary co-manager Megan Barker.

"It was a lot of work, but they did a lot of it themselves - we had them in a larger run so they were able to work some of it off exercising," she said.

"There was lots of involvement with the vets as we were monitoring weight loss and consulting with them on a monthly basis."

Fielding lots of inquiries from people wanting just one of the dogs, it took a while to find the perfect home.

"We weren't keen to split them up because they'd been together since Bon was a pup, we wanted to keep them that way," Ms Barker said.

"They were really keen to talk to us and talk about any changes they could make for the dogs, so we were confident with who they went to because of their background.

"It's quiet now without Bonnie and Cyrus."

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