Police have launched a probe after a dog was "deliberately set alight" at a derelict Scots orphanage.
Emergency services were called to the report of a fire at the South Lodge, at the rear of Smyllum House, in Lanark at around 11.30pm on Saturday, May 14.
After the fire had been extinguished the remains of an Old English Bull Dog were found.
Following an investigation, officers have discovered the body of the dog had been deliberately set alight.
Officers are now appealing for information that could help identify the sick thugs responsible.
Local Community Policing Officer, Constable Josh Ellwood, Carluke Police Station, said: “We are trying to establish the full circumstances of what exactly happened to the dog and how it ended up at the derelict building.
"Officers have been making door to door enquiries and checking local CCTV but would ask people who may have been in the area of Smyllum House, a place used by locals and dog walkers, to cast their minds back to Saturday, May 14, and think if they saw the dog, which is black in colour, or anyone acting suspiciously in the area between 10.30pm and 11pm.”
Information can be passed to officers via 101, quoting reference number 4577 of Saturday, May 14.
Alternatively, details can be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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