His Majesty the King has adopted 13 great danes, aged five months to two years, rescued after being poorly cared for by a breeder in Pathum Thani, the Department of Livestock Development says.

Some animal welfare officers from the Bureau of the Royal Household, and department deputy director-general Somchuan Rattanamangkhalanon visited Pathum Thani's livestock office to pick up the 13 dogs — five males and eight females — to be nursed at Kasetsart University's animal hospital.

Three of the 13 dogs still required special care and attention due to their severe physical weakness after having been left without feeding for a long time before they were rescued on Tuesday, said Mr Somchuan.

The 10 dogs have gained better physical strength, he said, adding that these dogs are expected to take a couple of weeks to fully recover.

His Majesty has kindly adopted these dogs and they will be taken care of at the bureau's dog care centre after they recover, Mr Somchuan said.

On Tuesday, department director-general Sorawit Thanito said the department had rescued the dogs from a house after receiving a tip-off submitted via the department's DLD 4.0 smartphone application about them being abandoned at the house.

The dogs were bred and raised for sale but after their owner could not sell these dogs and ran out of money they were abandoned in cages at the house without food, said Mr Sorawit, citing information provided by a caretaker who was at the house when livestock authorities visited. 

The dog breeder will face animal cruelty charges, he said.