AN investigation has been launched after a dog that had been starved to death was dumped in an Edinburgh garden. Animal cruelty inspectors were horrified when they discovered the Staffordshire bull terrier's corpse behind a hedge in Saughton on Saturday. It is thought the body was dumped there by the animal's owner.
The Scottish SPCA said it was one of the worst cases of cruelty ever seen in Edinburgh, with the dog weighing just over 8kg - half what it should be.
The charity's chief inspector Paul Anderson said: "This case is horrendous and among the worst we have investigated in recent years.
"We haven't carried out a post-mortem yet but the immediate indications are this poor dog starved to death and hadn't been dead long.
"He had very little muscle left on his body and was so emaciated it's as though skin had been pulled over his bones."
Estimates place the dog at around ten years old, prompting fears that he has endured almost a decade of suffering.
Mr Anderson added: "Sadly, he'll have been in a great deal of pain as when his body starves to death its organs begin to fail.
"The dog also had pressure sores and smelled of urine, which suggests he had been kept in squalid conditions.”
Source:
http://news.scotsman.com/news/Appeal-after-starved-dog39s-body.6685278.jp
