Put to sleep

THE humane destruction of a golden retreiver in a very poor state of health, which was found wandering in the City, has caused revulsion among the volunteers at the Rainbow Rehoming Centre in Eglinton.

One volunteer, Louise Graham said the incident, which came to light on Friday evening, has caused her to question her faith in the human race, such was the condition of the elderly retriever bitch.

Ms Graham said she received a call on Friday evening from a friend, who had been told about a dog wandering in the greater Shantallow area.

“I met her 10 minutes later, just moments after she found the dog. I could immediately see that she was in a horrific condition,” said a shocked Louise.

“She was clearly an elderly dog. Her coat was extremely matted, absolutely filthy and soiled with her own dirt. In places the mats were the size of oranges. Her hip bones protruded through her smelly, scraggy coat, her ribs were easy to touch under the huge mats. Her eyes were foggy and we thought she may have been partially blind,” she said, describing the sight that met her.

“She was very weak, confused and nervous of us at first, reluctant to be touched. We got her into the car and drove straight to the centre, where she was fed. We gave her a cosy bed under a heat lamp, she curled up and you could see she was relieved to have some comfort,” the volunteer said.

However, things did not go well the next day, when the pure bred dog was taken to a groomer to have her matted coat removed.

“She was shaved and finally we could see the full extent of her pathetic body. It revealed a body far worse than we could have initially imagined. She was immediately taken to the vet. Every vertebra on her spine was clearly visible. She had tumours on her back end, mouth and side and lumps were clearly visible all down her side. She was well on the way to being blind and deaf.

“The vet thought she may have suffered a stroke. She had a weak heart, failing kidneys and crackly lungs. She weighed only 20 kilos, 30 being the average weight for her breed. This poor girl had clearly suffered for a prolonged period. On the vet’s advice she was put to sleep at once. She died in pain, confused, starved and without dignity,” a distraught Louise said.

“Could I please appeal to your readers to give animals a voice? You don’t have to be an animal lover to speak up, help or show compassion. Please don’t let Tally’s death have been in vain. If you see an animal suffering or being neglected, I urge you to get in touch with your local rescue centre or take it to a vet,” she said appealing for people to contact the police if they think an animal is being neglected or abused.

“As a volunteer for the Rainbow Rehoming Centre, I have seen some terrible cases of neglect and animal cruelty over the years, but this case questioned my faith in the human race,” she said.