The RSPCA is appealing for information after a matted terrier was found abandoned in South Wales.
RSPCA Inspector Keith Hogben collected the dog from a local vet after a man who found her abandoned in Fochriw took her to safety.
Inspector Hogben said: “We were contacted on 18 February by a member of the public who’d found a little dog who’d been abandoned in an isolated area. The poor dog was in a real state.
“Juno, as we’ve named her, was severely matted and filthy so we believe she’d either been kept in poor conditions without the proper care required for a long-haired dog like her, or she’d been abandoned sometime earlier and had got into quite a state while out fending for herself.”
The little white terrier type dog is believed to be around four or five-years-old.
“Poor Juno had to have her seriously matted coat clipped and shaved off as it was a tangle of knots and matts, as well as filthy and urine stained,” Inspector Hogben added.
“Once the vets had removed her coat we could see she was very underweight beneath her mass of coat. She’s clearly been neglected for sometime.”
Juno is now being cared for by staff at RSPCA Llys Nini Branch, in Swansea, and the charity is appealing for information about her and where she may have come from.
Anyone who recognises the dog or has information about where she may have come from should contact the charity’s appeal line on 0300 123 8018.
The RSPCA has seen a spike in abandonments as people struggle to cope during the current cost of living crisis. Last year (2023), the RSPCA received reports of more than 16,000 abandoned dogs, and saw a three-year high in incidents of animals being abandoned.
In Wales alone, the RSPCA received 1,547 reports last year about an abandoned animal.
💰Anyone who is struggling with the costs of taking care of their pet can find helpful money-saving advice on the RSPCA’s online Cost of Living Hub.
💙 To help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals in desperate need of care, like Juno, please visit our website or call our donation line on 0300 123 8181.
