A veterinary nurse was sacked after she repeatedly poisoned her own dog in a bid for attention.
Georgina Bretman, 28, injected her cocker spaniel, Florence, with a drug from the medicine cabinet that made her collapse and suffer convulsions and seizures.
The damage was so severe that the two-year-old dog could have ended up in a coma or even dead.
She brought the dog into the private practice where she worked on several separate occasions for emergency treatment.
A pet shelter owner who hid six starving dogs and a cat in a freezer has been jailed for seven months.
Zara Brown, 29, was supposed to be looking after the animals at Ayrshire Ark dog shelter in Patna, Scotland.
But rather than caring for them, she left them to wallow in their own dirt, become malnourished and eventually die.
Some of the dogs even had infections and other health problems.
A stray cat was left with both eyes bulging out of their sockets after suffering a serious head injury.
The 12-week-old animal, who has been named Rupert by his rescuers, was found in agony wandering the street in Derby earlier this month.
After an examination, a vet revealed that it is believed a severe head injury may have caused his eyes to pop out.
Despite their best efforts, they added that the little kitten will… Read the full story
Homeless people in Exeter are catching and eating pigeons, police have said.
Officers contacted the RSPCA after receiving reports that the group were also catching and killing swans, ducks and even seagulls on the nearby river.
In the latest incident, horrified witnesses saw two homeless men grab fourteen flapping pigeons and stuff them into a rucksack in the city centre in Devon.
PCSO Sarah Giles, from the area’s policing team, said it appeared to be ‘a particular group of street attached drinkers’ but they had the means… Read the full story
Warning: Video contains footage that some viewers may find upsetting.
A thug kicked his ex-girlfriend’s Jack Russell to death with steel toe cap boots after a blazing row, a court heard.
Fraser Grant, 28, booted the helpless dog, named Patch, several yards into the air after an argument with his former partner Beth.
The kick ruptured the small pet’s liver.
Magistrates heard that the animal was ‘a happy and friendly dog’ which was scared of Grant.
The brutal attack came outside a riverside pub where Grant had been drinking with his girlfriend after… Read the full story
A starved dog was discovered after trying to tunnel her way out of a kennel she had been locked in.
Cathryn Tarbuck, 28, kept the dog Maisie in such squalid conditions for months, until she was so weak that she was found desperately digging ‘in her death throes’.
After seeing Maisie, a concerned friend of Cathryn’s picked the dog up and took her to a vet on January 27 this year.
Sadly, Maisie was so weak that the vet was forced to put her to sleep. They then called the RSPCA and reported Cathryn.
Cathryn has now been banned for life from keeping… Read the full story
An orphaned seal pup has been rescued from a beach after being without his mum for three days.
The poor pup was only ten days old when he was found alone and hungry by the RSPCA, who named him Jon Snow after the Game of Thrones character.
The weak and lethargic grey seal had been without his mum for three days on Penrhyn Beach, in Llandudno, North Wales.
He was taken to the Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, in Nantwich.
Just look at him bedding down on a towel which he cuddles up to and won’t let go of :'(
This is why you should think twice about letting off sky lanterns.
They look beautiful and seem harmless when you light the flame that lifts them into the air, with around 200,000 sold in the UK every year.
But they have a deadly effect on animals and the environment, as this picture of a barn owl trapped in the wire and paper shows.
It couldn’t get out and was found dead on the ground.
The lanterns, sometimes called Chinese lanterns, can also cause wildfires if they land while still burning and the RSPCA warned people not to use them.
A disturbing video of children appearing to burn a squirrel to death is doing the rounds on Snapchat.
The RSPCA warned that it’s trying to cope with a rise in ‘brutal and depraved’ kids attacking and torturing helpless animals.
In this particular video, a group of boys hit the squirrel with a large stone, drag it along the ground by its tail, then hang it from a tree and set it alight.
It was posted on… Read the full story
Hunters are sharing sick photos to boast about how many animals they have shot and killed.
Around 1,800 people have joined the Facebook group Grey Squirrel Hunters UK where people post hundreds of pictures of corpses.
They claim they are helping the native red squirrel against its invading relative, but have been criticised for the level of brutality in the photos, some of which show children posing with the dead animals.
One mum posted about shooting two of them as her kids watched.
Julie Bailey joked below a snap of the children with a bloodied squirrel and their thumbs up: ‘Very pleased with… Read the full story
The ‘Croydon cat killer’ is still at large and is now believed to have mutilated 250 pets in and around London.
Nine more bodies were found in ten days after an apparent killing spree, further afield than the attacks originally started.
Domestic shorthair Taz was found mutilated in his garden in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire on Monday, after he was missing for nearly a week.
He had wounds to his body which looked similar to others inflicted by the killer.
Police said they are linking this discovery ‘with an on-going series of similar crimes across the south east.’
Bodies of mutilated… Read the full story
Fireworks can be scary for humans – but for dogs, they can be downright terrifying.
In fact, it’s estimated that almost 45% of dogs show fear when one goes off, the RSPCA revealed.
That means almost half of dogs around the country could be cowering in fear on the lead up to Bonfire Night.
But how do you help your pet when they’re fretting?
Here Metro.co.uk reveals the RSPCA’s tips to calming your dog during what could be a scary ordeal.
Distressing photos show how a dead Staffie was found shoved in a rucksack with its paws tied together with cables.
The dog was discovered wrapped in a child’s duvet and gaffe tape – deliberately placed deep in undergrowth in woods.
He had bruising inside his mouth but it was not clear how he died, the RSPCA said.
The animal welfare organisation has launched an investigation following the gruesome discovery by a tree surgeon near Dibden Purlieu, Hampshire, on the edge of the New Forest.
RSCPA inspector Penny Baker said: ‘He was found in a large, brand new zipped-up rucksack.
Warning: Graphic images.
A dog died after his owner attempted to treat an infection using advice from the internet, rather than taking him to the vets.
Lenny the German Shepherd cross was left in ‘excruciating pain’ after the 10cm wound on his face opened up.
It extended from his ear to the corner of his mouth, and was filled with live maggots and faecal… Read the full story
A vile cockfighting gang has been found guilty of animal welfare crimes after detectives uncovered a blood-stained fighting pit in a home.
Five men and one 16-year-old boy made cockerels fight each other and caused unnecessary suffering to the birds earlier this year in east London.
Mohamed Arif, 44, Akhtar Hussain, 47, Mehtab Ahmed, 41, Mohammed Asab, 51, Altaf Hussain, 54, denied a string of animal cruelty charges in court this week and faced a three-day trial.
But a jury at Romford Magistrates’ Court found all the… Read the full story
The body of a missing cat was discovered hanging in a neighbour’s garden this week.
Puss Puss was found on Friday dangling over a fence after being strung up by rope, which had been hooked over nail on the other side.
The mother cat had blood spattered down her back legs.
She was discovered by the neighbour of her distraught owner in Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Yesterday the RSPCA launched an investigation to find out who had carried out the cruel act against PussPuss and… Read the full story
A couple starved their Staffordshire Bull Terriers so badly one of them died.
Hayley Wolsoncroft, 29, told a court she’d fed one of the pets tuna and pasta because she couldn’t afford dog food.
Both their dogs Molly and Fudge were emaciated and when one of them died, she wrapped its body in bin bags and buried it in woodland near their home, Wrexham magistrates were told.
She and partner Gavin Lee Lewis, 32, were convicted of animal cruelty offences and have been given 10-week suspended jail terms.
This beautiful dog with vitiligo is looking for a home after he was handed in at the RSPCA.
The 8-year-old rottweiler, named Duke, was brought to the centre in Taunton, Somerset, in October after his owner was no longer able to care for him.
Duke’s vitiligo has given him distinctive white markings on his fur, lending him a wonderful and unique appearance.
Anita Clark, deputy manager at West Hatch, said: “Duke is a… Read the full story
A dog was saved from almost certain death after police found him dumped on a freezing roadside.
The animal was abandoned at the side of the road in rural Cambridgeshire as the light was ‘fading’ fast.
A new animal welfare bill states that non-human animals do have feelings after all, after MPs voted that they didn’t.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has sought to allay concerns over the vote by introducing a new law to improve Britain’s animal welfare standards, and combat problems such as puppy farming.
The new draft bill enshrines animal sentience into British law post-Brexit, and introduces jail sentences of up to five years for animal abusers.
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