Staff at Bristol Dogs and Cats Home are appealing for information after a German Shepherd was found straying in an appalling condition in Bristol on November 6th.
The dog, named ‘Zen’ by staff at the Dogs and Cats Home, was found by kind passers-by, who took him to the RSPCA Bristol Branch on Albert Road, having immediately realised that the dog was in an astonishingly poor state of health and suffering terribly from his obvious injuries.
Staff at the centre said that Zen was in an “inexcusable condition”, he had been neglected to the extent that he had open sores all over his body, his nails had completely overgrown; shockingly some of his nails had even grown right around and back up through the pads on his feet. The skin between every single toe on each paw was infected, he had sores to his mouth, and he also had scarring and infected wounds as a result of not having received treatment for a skin condition. Zen was in a very poor health, suffering terribly and in a lot of pain.
The veterinary surgeon who attended to Zen at the RSPCA Bristol Clinic said, “Zen was probably one of the worst skin cases I’ve ever seen. He had ulceration of the skin to his face, hind legs & all four paws, with a large ulcer over his hip. His feet were swollen, and obviously painful to walk on – he only moved if he had to. The ulcerated skin was deeply infected and the dog was also extremely thin”.
Unsurprisingly no one came forward to claim Zen, and he was not microchipped, so an owner could not be traced. Very sadly, the vet advised that the severe nature of his disease condition and the extent of the pain and distress meant there was no option but to put Zen to sleep on humane grounds, to alleviate his suffering.
Jodie Hayward, Manager of the Bristol Dogs and Cats Home, said “This has been a very traumatic experience for everyone involved. The misery and suffering this poor dog went through would have been horrific”
“The smell of rotting flesh, infection, and bad skin, was so terrible that it made our eyes water. It is hard to think that somebody may have had this dog living with them in a house”.
Staff at the Bristol rescue and rehoming centre are now appealing to the public to come forward with information.
Jodie continued, “This poor dog did not deserve to be neglected in this way, the injuries he had meant that he can’t have travelled far. He could barely walk. He was found in the Sheldon Road/Romney Avenue area of Lockleaze, Bristol on November 6th 2015”
“Someone out there must know something, we please ask that if you have any information at all, no matter how small that you report it so that we may find justice for Zen. Maybe we will never know, but we will do our best to find out so that no other animal is allowed to come to harm at the hands of this person or people again”. Staff at the centre have also shared the appeal on their social media pages, with the hashtag #?justiceforzen.
If you think you may have any information about Zen, where he came from, who may have owned him – no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, please contact the main RSPCA control centre on 0300 1234 999, quoting ref: 476/26/11/15.
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