Pregnant dog dumped at bus stop with head trapped in metal cage

The RSPCA rescue officer who saved the dog today hit out at the cruel people who left her to suffer in the bitter cold.

The charity’s Animal Collection Officer, Louis Horton, said: “I think it’s disgusting to abandon any pet but to dump a pregnant dog is disgraceful.

“She must have been so frightened and confused. She was shivering from the cold weather and, when I tried to remove her from the hazardous crate, she was frozen with fear.”

ACO Horton responded to an emergency call at the weekend after passersby spotted the dog languishing in the cage at a bus stop opposite the Duke of Wellington public house in Guildford Road, East Horsley, near Leatherhead, Surrey.

Kind-hearted bar staff had carried the terror-stricken pet to the pub’s cellar and alerted the animal charity.

ACO Horton described the shocking scene.

He said: “When I arrived the poor dog was still in the cage and had somehow managed to get her head trapped between the bars in the top section of the cage.

“I had to use clippers to cut her free – she was absolutely terrified.

“She had no microchip or identification tag, was absolutely filthy and covered in mud, and I suspected she might be pregnant.”

The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic where an ultrasound confirmed that she was seven weeks pregnant and carrying at least two puppies.

Staff at the RSPCA’s South Godstone Animal Centre have named her Lucy and will continue to look after her until she has had her puppies.

Once the puppies are weaned, both they and the mother dog will be rehomed.

The RSPCA has launched an investigation into the abandonment, with ACO Horton explaining how Lucy was still “absolutely petrified” after her ordeal.

Anyone with information about where she came from or with any details about the way she was abandoned is urged to call the RSPCA’s confidential appeal line on 0300 123 8018.