A helpless puppy left to freeze to death in a Liverpool graveyard is the latest addition to the home of a woman who has taken in five horrifically mistreated pets.
RSPCA worker Kay Hawthorn's lifelong love of animals has led her to open her home to a number of unwanted dogs assisted by the charity, with bulldog cross Frankie being the latest addition to her family.
The poor pup was found "in a shocking state, cold and starving in a Liverpool graveyard", and was "terrified and unable to move due to having two badly deformed front legs", The Express reports.
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Kay, 53, of RSPCA Wirral and Chester, said: "There is no doubt if Frankie had not been spotted when he was, he would have suffered a lingering death from starvation or hypothermia.
"He was terrified, and as he was unable to move from the secluded spot where he was left.
"He was so nervous in our care - he was curled up in a ball and was reluctant to move, which we often find with dogs who have been dumped because clearly they are just so frightened.
“Within two weeks he almost doubled his weight to 8.2 kilos and his skin condition has been treated.
"I took him home to help him settle away from a kennel environment, intending to foster him until a home could be found, but he just really bonded with me, and who could resist those lovely eyes?"
The RSPCA has seen a shocking 25% rise in the number of abandoned pets, with 13,159 recorded in the year to October 2022 - up from 10,519 last year. The charity believes the rising cost of living is to blame, and fears the problem will worsen as people continue to struggle.
Luckily for Frankie, he has settled well into his new home after having an operation to correct one front leg. He now loves to run around with his new family, 12-year-old West Highland White cross Maisie, 12-year-old German Shepherd Eva, and Shih Tzus Bertie and Toots, aged 18 and four.
Toots was the first dog to be taken in by Kay in 2018, while the RSPCA investigated her former owner. The eight-week-old pup was found with three broken ribs on one side, three fractured ribs on the other, and a fractured jaw in two places. Too young to be separated from her pack, she had to be comforted throughout the night by Kay, who fed her puppy milk through a syringe.
Next came neglected Eva, who was found living in squalor with urine stains on her coat from laying down in her own filth, and a skin condition that meant half her body was bald, The Express said.
Maisie was also found dumped in a graveyard, with matted fur and and eye so infected it had to be removed.
As well as the dogs, Kay, a mum of three, has also taken six elderly cats into the clan over the years, who would have struggled to find homes otherwise.
Kay added: "I did begin to foster all the dogs with a view to getting them used to how to live in a home environment so they would be adopted easier.
"In each case I offer them homely comforts to help them recuperate from various ordeals and then I end up falling in love and they end up staying.”
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