A German Shepherd bitch was rescued by a Gozo Civil Protection Department team, led by station officer Peter Mercieca, from a sea cave close to Hondoq ir-Rummien on Thursday afternoon. The bitch was brought ashore at Mgarr where she was handed over to Gozo SPCA. It was found to be in a horrific state, severely emaciated, like a walking skeleton, with hundreds of ticks all over. Its hair was dry and sparse, with no hair for the length of the spine. It was severely dehydrated, having possibly been in the cave, which could not be accessed from the land, for several days.

The bitch, which had a grey muzzle and had obviously been used for breeding puppies, was wearing a dirty old collar with no ID. It was not micro chipped and it can only be assumed that, because of her very bad condition, she was thrown into the sea to die.

“The dog was given water, (she had no interest in food) and rushed to the vet, who tested it for Leishmaniasis, using the rapid Leishmaniasis test and found it positive. The vet also found it to be severely anaemic and a kidney function test indicated renal failure,” Gozo SPCA said. His view was that the dog was suffering and after discussion it was agreed that it would be kindest for the dog to be put down. This decision could not be prolonged as there was absolutely nowhere in the Gozo SPCA centre to keep it overnight.

The centre is full to bursting, the situation being so bad that currently five dogs are being fostered out with volunteers in order to alleviate the overcrowding. Already this year 210 animals have been picked up off the streets, or dumped outside the shelter.

The cruelty cases dealt with by Gozo SPCA are increasing every week, with three during the past seven days, one old dog was dumped outside the shelter close to death and another elderly blind bitch was found in sewage water with a three inch gash in her neck full of hundreds of maggots. “This is cruelty beyond belief,” the statement said.