Heartbreak as a dog was found dying in a house littered with rubbish, faeces and drug sharps

Anna was left to die in a locked room in a filthy house. After spending days without food or water, she was ‘skinny, ribby and very thirsty’. But thanks to the dedicated care of the RSPCA, the resilient pooch made an unexpected recovery and found a loving home.

Left with no food or water for days

An eight-year-old Jack Russell cross, Anna, was found locked up in a small room of a filthy house. She had no access to food or water for days and was emaciated. Unable to rescue her at first, police officers had to obtain a warrant to get inside and pull the starving pup out.

Two other Jack Russel dogs - Buster and Lucky - were also found on the property. They ‘had the run of the house and managed to scavenge things to eat’, and were therefore in better condition than Anna.

The house where all three dogs were trapped was littered with rubbish, faeces and drug sharps, and the RSPCA Inspector Louise Showering said conditions where the dogs were kept ‘were the worst she had ever seen’.

Showering recalled:

The police thought Anna was dead or dying upstairs as they couldn’t see her after they found the other two dogs. She was skinny, ribby and very thirsty.

A new lease on life

Anna was rescued and taken into RSPCA Wirral and Chester Branch as a 7.5kg dog.

She was sofrail, she needed to spend some time in the charity’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital for extra support.

Wirral Animal Centre’s staff were determined to nurse her back to health and help her transition to life in the outside world.

The rescue's manager Kay Hawthorne said about Anna:

She was quite timid when she came to us, but she grew in confidence and she is absolutely lovely and a real character.

We fed her up and gave her the love she hadn’t been receiving and it has been a great turnaround for her. She is looking her best - she’s such a lovely, smiley dog who loves playing with her toys.

Through the hard work of the charity’s staff, she nearly doubled her weight to tip the scales at 12kg. She also came out of her shell to show her playful and energetic character.

A loving home, at last

Once Anna was ready physically and emotionally, the RSPCA started looking for a new loving home for her, and the sweet pooch wasn’t on a market for a long. She found her forever family in Anglesey, Wales.

Anna’s new owners said:

She absolutely loves cuddling up to us and we can’t believe how amazingly well Anna seems to have settled in. She really does seem to be loving life here and her personality is beginning to shine through.

The RSPCA is highlighting Anna’s story as part of its Winter Campaign aiming to support more rescues like this. The charity fears that more animals will be neglected and abandoned by owners during the cost of living crisis. Head to RSPCA's website to learn more about it and support its vital animal welfare work.

Sources used:

- The Standard: 'Dog found living in awful conditions gets loving new home'