Badly neglected Tally put to sleep
These are the sad eyes of a dog so sick and neglected when found by a local animal rescuer at the weekend that she had to be put to sleep.
Tally, a golden retriever, was found wandering the streets of Shantallow on Friday night by Louise Graham, of the Rainbow Rehoming Centre.
The dog was severely underweight, had tumours and lumps all over her body and was well on her way to being blind and deaf.
"I have seen some terrible cases of neglect and animal cruelty over the years, but this case questioned my faith in the human race," Louise told the 'Journal.'
On Friday night, Louise rushed to Shantallow after a friend told her she'd seen a golden retriever dog wandering the streets.
"I could immediately see that the dog was in an horrific condition," she said.
"Tally 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, weighing her already frail body down.
"Her hip bones protruded through her smelly scraggy coat, her ribs were easy to touch under the huge mats.
"Tally's eyes were foggy and we thought she may have been partially blind. 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, devouring the bowl of food. 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 next morning Louise took Tally to a dog groomer, where she was shaved so the full extent of the injuries on her frail body could be seen.
She continued: "When the matted coat was removed 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 and was obviously neglected."
On the vet's advice the decision was made to put the dog to sleep immediately
"It would have cruel to keep Tally alive for any longer," said Louise. "This was the last kind thing we could to do for her. She died in pain, confused, starved and without dignity."
Louise said she wants Tally's story to strike a chord with people and encourage them to speak up if they see an animal suffering or being neglected.
"Although Tally was wandering the streets in Shantallow, she had not been seen by local dog walkers in that area before; she may have got out or let out from a yard where she was being kept," she said.
If you have an information regarding Tally's owner or if you have any other information regarding this situation, please get in touch with the PSNI Strand Road or contact the rainbowrehoming@gmail.com Tel: +44 (0)28 71812882.
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Weather for Derry
Sunday 12 February 2012
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