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TWO pedigree dogs were dumped on a farm and left for dead by their cruel owners.
The English Bull Terriers were starved and suffering from a painful skin condition when they were found roaming around by the land owner.
And the terrified pair had lost much of their fur, were covered in fleas and had to be tied to a fence to stop them running off.
It is thought the animals may have been used as fighting dogs before they were abandoned on the farm at West Calder.
Officials at the Scottish SPCA say the dogs are lucky to be alive and are now appealing for help in tracking down their owners.
Stuart Murray, Senior SSCPA Inspector who attended the call-out said: “The dogs had been running around the farm, I suspect that they had been dumped.
“They were in bad order; they were starving and covered in fleas and mange.
“The bitch in particular was severely suffering. She had no hair at all.
“They wouldn’t have survived much longer if they hadn’t been found.”
The dogs are recovering at the SSPCA kennels in Balerno where they are being treated for the skin condition Sarcoptic Mange.
During this time they will be assessed to see if they can be re-homed.
But Inspector Murray admitted that if they were fighting dogs, they would always pose a danger to the public.
He said: “We need to determine whether or not they were used for fighting to determine whether or not they can be re-homed.
“If they are fighters, unless the can be rehabilitated they would have to be put down. We couldn’t take the risk that they would be re-homed and then maul a child or attack other dogs.”
Doreen Graham, spokeswoman for the SSPCA, said that the priority was to give the dogs the care they needed to get better.
She said: “Their skin is infected, swollen and raw and so the dogs are very distressed. It’s a very painful condition.
“The state these dogs are in is through sheer neglect. If it is treated early it is not too much of a problem. It’s going to take a long time to treat now but they are getting plenty of TLC from the staff.”
The SSPCA are appealing for anyone with information regarding the dogs.
She added: “English Bull Terriers are not common and we believe someone in the area will have seen the dogs running around and may know who the owner is, because we believe these dogs have been neglected and we would like to find anyone in the area who has seen them.
“This is a criminal offence. Under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006 there is a duty of care for anyone looking after an animal.”
