Rhianna Benson
When British couple Laura McFarlane and Jamie Griffiths made the decision to adopt a dog together, they spent several weeks researching the traits of different popular breeds.
Eventually, they landed upon a cockapoo, convinced their generally small stature would be perfect for their home. During a visit to an animal rescue close to their home in November 2022, McFarlane, 43, and Griffiths, 51, came across Bobby.
The staff at the facility informed the Pontypridd, South Wales pair that he was one of the popular cocker spaniel-poodle crossbreeds, and wouldn't grow more than two stone. Having already fallen in love with their new fury friend, they welcomed Bobby into their home.
However, it wasn't until several months later that they realised a huge mistake had been made.
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"We were told that he was a cockapoo," McFarlane recently told press. "We expected him to grow to a maximum of 12kg.
"Once he'd had his injections, we started taking him to cockapoo socials. He was the biggest dog and he just got bigger.
"Everybody kept saying to us that they thought that he was a labradoodle."
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Bobby had grown almost four times larger than the couple had expected, and was approaching a staggering seven stone in weight.
Baffled as to how this could have been possible, McFarlane and Griffiths eventually decided to have their pet genetically tested.
To their surprise, the couple later discovered that Bobby had no single trace of Cocker Spaniel in him. Instead, they found that Bobby was actually a cross between a Bernese mountain dog and a poodle.
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For those unfamiliar with the former breed, Bernese Mountain Dogs are colossal mutts that originated in the Swiss Alps, having been bred for physically arduous tasks, like pulling carts, due to their power.
"He was so big by that point compared to what we thought he would be," McFarlane explained.
The regional sales manager went on to add, however, that she in no way regrets adopting her boy.
"There's just more of him to love," she continued. "He's my best friend. He's a lot of fun, he's extremely cheeky. He's extremely fun and he's got lots of doggy friends."
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At the moment, Bobby weighs a mind-blowing 45kgs - roughly the same as a 13-year-old child - and eats three full-sized meals per day, including the odd full English breakfast and Sunday roast.
"He's always hungry anyway but we're quite strict with his food because he does have a sensitive stomach," McFarlane continued.
"He has three feeds a day so if we can do him a Sunday dinner or a breakfast we'll do him a little one as well because he likes to join in."
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She continued: "We don't like leaving him at home on our days off because one of us is always working from home.
"We just take him everywhere. He's done everything - he's been on speed boats, been camping. He lives the life of Riley."
Despite being blindsided by Bobby's breed, McFarlane and Griffiths insist they wouldn't have him any other way, and have since used their experience to encourage other dog-lovers to adopt.
"Ask as many questions as possible - if you're going to a breeder then get their backstory maybe," she continued. "I would always encourage adoption over going to a breeder and buying a puppy.
"That's the second dog we've had from a rescue. We had our first dog for 10 years and we've had Bob for three so I would [recommend adoption] because there's just so many dogs there.
"We can't live without a dog really. Bobby is no trouble to us."