A north-east community has rallied to save a sick boxer dog who was facing death in a Spanish cell.
Angel the boxer was taken to a dog pound and locked in solitary confinement after being found living out of hotel bins on the streets of Benidorm.
Lorraine Cumming, a boxer expert, said the dog was locked in its cage for 23 hours at a time, and sprayed with cold water when the floors were hosed down.
Time was running out for Angel, with homeless dogs in Spain destroyed unless a suitable home can be found for them within seven days.
But in January Mrs Cumming’s charity Boxer Welfare Scotland (BWS) won Angel a last minute stay of execution and – thanks to the generosity of the people of Peterhead – have finally been able to bring Angel to Scotland
More than £2,700 was raised at a fun day at Peterhead Football Club’s Balmoor Stadium last weekend for BWS – including enough to pay for the dog’s journey.
Mrs Cumming’s said: “He had been living out of hotel bins – local girls had been trying to catch him for quite a while – but he’s very friendly.
“In the Spanish shelters they don’t even get a blanket to lie on, he’s been on concrete since January. Here we have orthopedic beds but he’s been dragging the covers off and lying on the cold tiles because he’s just not used to anything soft. He’s never even seen grass either.”
Sadly last week Angel’s condition began to deteriorate rapidly and the dog – believed to be around four years old – developed a dangerous abscess.
He was rushed for emergency veterinary surgery in Glasgow as a result.
Now, Angel has bounced back, and BWS is appealing for a Good Samaritan to come forward and offer Angel a new life.
Mrs Cumming, who founded the renowned rescue charity 10 years ago, said: “I would love him to go out to the country. We’ve got a big garden here and he’s fascinated by things like rabbits. Seeing him walking on grass you think wow – he’s kind of hopping along, because he doesn’t understand what grass is.
“It’s all new to him.”
For further information, contact Boxer Welfare Scotland on 01224 515 1001.