A puppy allegedly thrown over a 6ft wall has been taken to Glasgow for a potentially life-saving MRI scan.
Four-month-old Yorkshire Terrier Kai was discovered lying seriously injured in a neighbour’s garden in the Queen Street area of Peterhead on Sunday.
It is thought the pup suffered spinal injuries, and when his distraught owner Michelle Mackie found him his legs were not moving.
He was sedated by a local vet, and Mrs Mackie faced an anxious wait to see if he would survive.
Yesterday, she took him to an animal hospital in Glasgow where he will undergo an MRI.
She said: “He’s going under anesthetic to go for an MRI at the Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow. They’re going to phone us and give us an update on what’s happening with him.
“There’s no MRI machine in the north of Scotland, there’s one that occasionally comes to Aberdeen, but it’s not due for another two months.”
Mrs Mackie revealed scores of people had been in touch since hearing about Kai’s injuries, and with donations flooding in to cover his care she hopes there might be enough left over to bring a portable scanner to the north-east.
“I’m absolutely astounded by the response from the people of Peterhead,” she said. “I’ve had quite a few people making donations to my PayPal account to cover any costs that the insurance won’t.
“We don’t really know anybody, I think it’s absolutely fantastic. We’ll get something set up, and if there’s anything left over we’re going to try to see if we can get a portable MRI up this way to save anyone else having to do this.
“A lot of people wouldn’t have been able to take their pet to Glasgow and would have had a more difficult choice to make.”
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old man who had been charged in connection with the incident has been released pending further investigations.
The man was due to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court yesterday.
A Crown Office spokesman said: “After full and careful consideration of the report, the accused was liberated from custody and did not appear in court in respect of this incident.
“The case remains under consideration by the procurator fiscal.”