'We owe Arthur more than getting him well again, we owe him answers': Call to track down owner of malnourished dog left in condition 'beyond anything we have ever seen'
Calls have gone out to track down the owner of a dog so badly mistreated that he was left barely able to walk and severely malnourished.
A Co Down charity looking after the pet, taking him to a vet to treat a skin condition and trimming his long, matted fur and overgrown nails, is worried that more animals may be held in similarly awful conditions by the same owner.
The dog, named Arthur by Almost Home Animal Rescue’s volunteers, was found in the Ballynahinch area on Sunday and taken to the charity, who say his condition was “quite honestly beyond anything we have ever seen, or ever want to see again”.
Trustee Karen Matthews told the News Letter they’d at first presumed Arthur must have been a relatively elderly dog; after the vet visit and clean-up, however, they now believe he’s no more than two or three years old.
They theorise he was likely kept in a small cage or crate and not allowed much exercise, as his hind legs have such little muscle mass that Arthur is barely able to get around.
“Perhaps the hardest thing of all is seeing just how broken and shut down he is,” said Karen.
“Arthur is a shadow of the dog he should be. He has clearly been through so much, and yet, despite everything, he still trusts us enough to let us help him.
“He’s understandably nervous of being touched and still a little unsure of what is happening around him. We can only imagine how much he has been through, but there are some positives; he’s eating well, he’s warm, safe and finally being cared for.”
The Moira-based charity has shared Arthur’s story on social media, leading to an outpouring of sympathy for the malnourished little mite.
They’ve called on anyone who knows him to contact either them or animal welfare, so that the owner can be held accountable and their property checked to make sure no other animals are also being kept in bad conditions.
“We want to understand what happened to Arthur,” said Karen. “We want to establish who owned him, how he came to be in this condition and why.
“If anybody recognises Arthur, knows where he may have come from or has any information that could help us piece together his past, we’d asked them to please get in touch with us privately.
“We owe this little boy more than simply getting him well again. We owe him answers.”
She added that charity wants to prove to Arthur that the world isn’t always a cruel place and show him that he’s “worthy of love, kindness, comfort and a life where he never has to be afraid or suffer again”.
Said Karen: “The outpouring of love, concern and support for this little dog has been absolutely overwhelming.
“We cannot change what has happened to this boy. We cannot give him back the life he should have had, but we can make sure that the rest of his life looks very, very different.”
Almost Home Animal Rescue can be reached by email at [email protected] and by phone on 07922 921852.