A "terrified" puppy with deformed legs was "hours away from death" after being abandoned near Kirkdale Cemetery.
Chance, a type of bulldog pup with two deformed legs, was dumped in a bush near the cemetery earlier this year. When the RSPCA were called in, their inspector, Jo McDonald, found the pup "terrified and emaciated" and rushed him to the RSPCA's animal hospital in Greater Manchester.
The dog, believed to be around three months old, was "too frightened to move" after being abandoned, and "hours away from death" by the time he reached the hospital. Yet, with special care and surgery, Chance was back on his feet and sent to the Wirral and Chester branch of the RSPCA, where he was soon adopted by branch manager Kay Hawthorne, who fell in love with the pup.
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A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: "The male bulldog-type pup, called Chance, was found by a dog walker in a bush at the side of a footpath close to the back of Kirkdale Cemetery, near Seeds Lane, on Sunday, February 6. RSPCA inspector Jo McDonald was sent to investigate and rushed the terrified and emaciated pup to RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital.
"He was emaciated, too frightened to move and had a skin condition.
"While in their care Chance underwent an operation to correct one of his legs and was then sent to the RSPCA Wirral and Chester branch - and the manager Kay Hawthorn fell in love with the loveable pup, aged about three months old. So instead of putting Chance up for rehoming she has decided to give him a home with herself and her other four dogs.
"His weight became normal and he was due to have an operation on his other leg but this corrected itself with plenty of TLC.
"The RSPCA is still trying to find the person responsible for abandoning Chance - who was hours away from death."
The RSPCA have been forced to make an appeal after seeing a worrying rise in animal abandonments this year, with four animals abandoned every hour on average throughout the country - an increase of 24% from last year. In Merseyside they have received almost 600 reports of pets being abandoned already since January.
This means they have received reports of over two pets being abandoned every day in Merseyside since January 1. The charity said they fear a further rise in pet abandonment caused by the increase in people getting new pets caused by the pandemic, and the cost of living crisis, which means wallets are tightening with the family pet often one of the first expenses to be cut back on.
Dermot Murphy, chief inspectorate officer at the RSPCA, said: “The idea of putting your cat in a cat carrier and taking them to a secluded spot in the woods before walking away, or chucking your dog out of the car and driving off leaving them desperately running behind the vehicle, is absolutely unthinkable and heartbreaking to most pet owners - but sadly we are seeing animals callously abandoned like this every single day.
“We understand that sometimes the unexpected can happen - the pandemic and cost of living crisis proved that - but there is never an excuse to abandon an animal. There are always other options for anyone who has fallen on hard times and can no longer afford to keep their pet.”
The RSPCA is currently running their Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, aiming to raise funds to allow their teams to continue their vital work with desperate animals.
To find out more about the campaign, or to donate, visit Cancel Out Cruelty here.
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