Owner ties 'Zoro' to block outside home
SHARPESHILL SANCTUARY SWAMPED WITH UNWANTED PETS
IN RECENT WEEKS Wicklow SPCA have been swamped with unwanted pets, many of whom would have been given as Christmas presents. Mid January is usually the time when pets start flooding into Sharpeshill Animal Sanctuary, as people decide that the cute little puppy they received as a gift isn't really what they want after all.
It's the same routine each year, despite constant statements from the SPCA that an animal is a pet for life and not just something that can be cruelly discarded once the initial Christmas thrill has waned.
But not every pet dumped outside the likes of Sharpeshill is a recent Christmas present. The animal sanctuary's latest guest, a black and white collie christened 'Zoro', has been neutered, is obedient and appears to have been looked after at some stage in his life.
Staff at Sharpeshill arrived on Sunday morning to find 'Zoro' tied beside the gate to a cement block.
'He looked to have been there all night, and it was a bitterly cold night as well,' says Anne Fitzpatrick of Ash, the first person to come across the abandoned dog.
'Whoever dumped him tied him by a chain to a cement block. They must have brought the cement block with them as well. He is a lovely good natured dog so it's terrible that this has happened to him.'
According to Anne things are far worse in 2010 that they were at the same time in 2009. Some may blame the recession, but she points out that with the likes of 'Zorro' it's clear that money has been spent on caring for him and neutering him.
Early in the New Year, two hillwalkers came across two distressed Spaniel puppies that had been unceremoniously dumped in a secluded part of Greystones. The walkers happened to stumble upon the two pups and had to use their shoelaces to safely transport the dogs down from some mountainous and tricky terrain. Both pups have since been rehomed with new owners and now have a far brighter 2010 and future ahead of them.
- Myles BUCHANAN
