Dehydrated dogs find new loving homes after rescue from neglectful owner

Two dogs have escaped a campaign of neglect at the hands of their owner, who left them malnourished and dehydrated.

The Scottish SPCA were first alerted to the dogs’ ordeal following call to the animal charity’s helpline in April.

Inspector Cannon visited Thomas McLaren’s Glasgow property, where it was found that French bulldog Berti was “very emaciated”, while German shepherd Maggie appeared underweight.

Glasgow & West

Man neglected dog so severely it screamed when touched by vet

Thomas McLaren was handed unpaid work for neglecting French bulldog Berti and German shepherd Maggie

McLaren told the inspector Berti hadnt been to see the vet in a while as he hadn’t got round to it.

Berti had been his mother’s dog but McLaren had taken responsibility for his care over a year ago.

Inspector Cannon noticed dry dog food at the top of the stairs which both dogs seemed uninterested in. He also realised the dogs had not had access to water.

Maggie and Berti were seized and taken to be examined, where a vet concluded Berti had been suffering unnecessarily for around two to three months.

He weighed just under 9kg and was given a body condition score of one out of nine. He was also dehydrated.

Berti and Maggie were both found to be malnourished and dehydrated. Scottish SPCA

Maggie had a score of two out of nine and had some crusting and inflamed skin around her nipples and multiple infected wounds on her legs. When the vet touched her, she screamed in pain.

Both dogs were given water, and drank so desperately the water had to be taken away to prevent them being sick.

McLaren was handed a two-year ban on owning or keeping any animal, 80 hours of unpaid work and a community payback order after causing unnecessary suffering to Berti and Maggie.

Both dogs have recovered from their ordeal with the care and support of the Scottish SPCA and have since found loving homes.

Inspector Cannon said: “Both Berti and Maggie were in an awful state when we got to them. Bertie was extremely emaciated and Maggie was clearly in a lot of pain due to having untreated wounds on her legs.

“What struck me most about this case was how dehydrated both dogs were, which was evident due to how much they drank, and how frantic they were for more water when with the vet.

“I am so glad that we were able to rescue them from McLaren as I fear what could have happened if we didn’t get to them in time.”