Dogs in a 'shocking' state

Louise Neill says she has been shocked by the distressing state of some of the animals being admitted to the kennels over the past month.

"This has been the worst year that I can remember for dogs that are underweight or have coats in a terrible condition. It's an absolute disgrace," she said.

"We have dogs coming in with big long nails and badly matted coats. It seems as this they have just been fed and watered and that's about it.

"We had a Poodle with a badly matted coat which needed clipped on Christmas Eve and a stray Golden Retriever which was also very, very badly matted and will need groomed."

Louise revealed that in seperate incidents the kennels had also dealt with two "badly neglected" German Shepherds from the local area.

"The matters are in the hands of the police for prosecution. One of the dogs was in such a very bad condition that the vet had to put it to sleep, while the other was half its own body weight."

Louise said it was disappointing that some members of the public had not heeded the seasonal advice that 'A Dog is For Life, Not Just Christmas."

"We got three dogs in yesterday (Monday) and are expecting a big influx over the rest of the month. With the Council Dog owners back at work now we will be up to our eyes.

"We had one case of receiving a dog on the December 23 because its owners were going away for Christmas.

"Of course the more unwanted and stray dogs that we get the more difficult it will be to rehome them."

Appealing for the public's help, Louise added: "We urgently require bedding of any kind, whether it be blankets or towels to keep the dogs warm in this freezing weather.

"We have had no water since Christmas Eve and I have just been bringing in five-gallon drums to keep us going. We have also been given a boiler to help us to heat the water.

"We also require tins of dog food and feed from the public which would really help us out."

To help please call Louise on 07979534023.