An investigation is underway after a dog was found dead in a country park in Paisley.
The Boerboel South African mastiff was found in the Gleniffer Braes area last Thursday morning.
Graphic images seen by the Paisley Daily Express show the deceased dog – which is believed to be two years old – in a stream near Sergeantlaw Road at the Paisley beauty spot.
The distressing photos show the dog with a missing ear and a collar around its neck.
Concerned residents who spotted the dead dog earlier in the week retrieved it and transported it to a local vet in the hope it would be reunited with its owner.
However, the SSPCA has now took possession of it and has launched a probe into the death of the animal.
It’s understood there are concerns regarding the dog’s injuries and how the animal came to be at Gleniffer Braes.
Irene Whiteside volunteers with a charity called Harvy’s Army which helps to reunite lost pets with their owners.
She is an admin of the Lost Pets Renfrewshire Facebook group and was one of the first people to come across the animal.
She said that she was made aware of a dead dog being spotted at an unspecified location in the park on Wednesday, April 5.
The following day, a dog walker spotted it again and this time informed Irene and the group.
They arranged a team to go out and retrieve the dog with the intention of reuniting it with its owner – putting out a call to group members for people to assist with moving it.
She said: “I couldn’t get down the slope because it was too steep but we gave the dog walkers our scanner to check it for a microchip.
“It said that it was still registered to the breeder. It had never been updated by anybody who had ever had possession of the dog.
“We gave another of our volunteers a stretcher. We then put out a call for help because the route down that we took was quite long, not too steep until the very last bit.
“But on the other side, there was a very steep embankment that took you straight up to the road, it was a much shorter route; so they managed to get the dog onto the stretcher.
“And we’ve put out a call for some guys because we needed physical strength.
“We got some help straight away. It took five guys and they struggled to get the dog up. That embankment is so steep and he was such a large dog.”
Once they managed to get the dog up the embankment, they transported it to Abbey Vets.
The SSPCA were subsequently informed and took possession of the dog and are looking into potential wrongdoing.
Irene said that, judging by the condition of the dog, she felt it had been dead for a while.
“He’d been there for some time because he was decomposing,” she added. “It was pretty nasty.”
The SSPCA is currently investigating the incident and was unable to provide a comment on the circumstances.
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “If you see a dead animal in a Renfrewshire street or public place, please let us know.
“You can report it to us online at myaccount.renfrewshire.gov.uk/service/tell_us_about_a_dead_animal or by calling 0300 300 0300.”
Irene wished to pay her thanks to the volunteers that helped assist, saying: “We’re very, very grateful for the help that we received.”
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