Copyright cambridge-news
Two dumped dogs were found in a Cambridgeshire field in a “horrific” condition. Two spaniels, now named Henry and Arthur, were found in the Fenland area on Friday afternoon (October 24). The dogs were reported to Shelley Munns, dog warden for Fenland District Council. When the dogs were found, Shelley was told they had matted hair. However, Shelley didn’t realise how bad the situation was. When Shelley collected them, she said the “stench was horrific”. Shelley added: “They were found in a field. When they got called through as matted, I just thought they were a little matted so I was going to take them to a groomer. However, when I collected them they were a lot worse than I thought.” When Shelley first saw them, she said it was “like a kick to the stomach”. She said: “There’s no explanation as to why they have gotten to this state. “It’s horrific. I spoke to one of the healthcare assistants who helped me carry them in [to the vets] and he said the smell was so bad, it was still up his nose when he went home that night.” The pair were taken to Triovets in March. When they arrived, the vets were unable to tell what breed of dog they were as their fur was very matted. Head nurse Lauren Carter said they were matted “that badly”, that the dogs’ heads and legs were “matted into positions that weren’t natural to their body”. Lauren added: “They weren’t as mobile as they should be. “The hair would have been really painful and pulling on them. That level of matting would have been tight to the skin and pulling that creates sores and bruises. “It was unrecognisable what breeds they were. They were just long-haired, matted and dirty.” Lauren performed a health check on the dogs, as “patient welfare and comfort has got to come first”. However, she said the dogs were “terrified”. The vet clipped their hair and kept what they could of the remaining hair. Lauren said: “They weren’t eating at the time they were found. “They were quite traumatised, so we gave them a lot of TLC and checked there was no indication of infection. It was just a sort of clean-up and welfare check and sort of relighting their little lives.” Lauren estimated that the dogs are both young adults, and for an “animal to get into that condition”, she thought they had not been cared for properly at all. She said: “Anybody that has this breed would know you do have to keep a little bit of a hand on them. “I would be as bold to say they’ve never had any kind of care. I would say they’ve been abandoned recently, but they wouldn’t have been in this state because of abandonment. “They’ve never been looked after and probably finally been kicked out because it’s got so bad. This is how I feel the story has gone and it’s so sad.” Henry and Arthur are now in emergency foster accommodation and are “doing well”, said Shelley. Lauren added: “In a nursing position, at this stage when we have to intervene, it is obviously not for a healthy patient. “To watch them, almost have the lights come back on, that is when the personality starts to come out and I love to see them growing and their affections start to come out. That is a massive team effort.” Shelley and Lauren wanted to add that there is help out there for owners, so their pets don’t get to a position like Henry and Arthur did. Shelley said: “If animals get into that situation, reach out to us. There is always help. We will not judge.”
