Neglected dog that was forced to eat dead mother finds loving new home

THIS is Oscar, the Staffordshire cross.

The last time you saw a picture of him, he had been so badly neglected that he was forced to eat part of his starved mother's dead body just to survive.

But his "tail" has a very happy ending, and he is now coming on in leaps and bounds since being taken in by new owners through the RSPCA.

The Holton-le-Clay couple, who do not wish to be named, "fell in love" with Oscar as soon as they saw him at Panton Kennels, near Wragby – they had been searching for a friendly rescue dog for months.

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Oscar's owner said: "We collected him on June 22 from the kennels and we knew he was the one because of the way he just looked at us rather than barking.

"We had been told he had a tough time but didn't realise how bad he was until we saw the front page of the Grimsby Telegraph.

"It was shocking to see our dog in such a bad state – but I don't think Oscar thinks about the past, he is a very happy, good-natured dog.

"He is very sociable and loves playing ball on the fields near by. We were very surprised at how quickly he settled in – we even took him on holiday to Yorkshire recently and he went walking with us."

The couple said the reason why they wanted to re-home a rescue dog was to give one a "second chance".

"Despite Oscar's past he is never aggressive and very placid," they said.

"The RSPCA have done an excellent job in rescuing him out of the bad situation – and anyone should think about owning a rescue dog – they come in all shapes and sizes."

An RSPCA spokesperson said: "We investigate more than 160,000 animal cruelty complaints every year.

"The only way we can help dogs like Oscar is through the public being our eyes and ears. When someone calls us with a complaint about an animal, we will ask one of our RSPCA inspectors to visit the premises and speak with the owner of the animal.

"It is a common misconception that the RSPCA have special powers of entry, unless we are asked to accompany the police; we cannot just 'seize' an animal.

"However, most of the time people do work with us, and will often willingly sign over their animals to our care. In more extreme cases, we have to involve the police."

The RSPCA said adopting animals can have benefits.

The spokesperson added: "Aside from the obvious benefits to the animal of giving it a second chance of a loving home, adopting an animal can have lots of benefits to the owner too.

"It is often less expensive to get an animal (particularly a pure breed) from a centre than a breeder. And, when you rehome a pet from us, the costs of microchipping, vaccinations and neutering (as well as any other medical treatments) are all included in our rehoming fee."

As reported, the dog's previous owner, Katrina Plumridge, 31, of Hainton Avenue, Grimsby, admitted two offences of causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs between March 22 and April 19.

Grimsby Crown Court heard they were starved so badly that one of them died a "horrendous" death and the other – Oscar – was forced to eat part of his mother's dead body in a desperate attempt to survive.

Unemployed Plumridge was given an 18-week suspended prison sentence, 180 hours' unpaid work and was ordered to pay £500 costs. Another £180 costs will be paid out of central funds.

She was banned from owning, keeping or being involved with the care of animals until further notice under the Animal Welfare Act.

She will have to serve a minimum ban of one year before she can apply to a court to have the ban lifted.

To rehome an RSPCA animal, visit www.rspca.org.uk