POLICE are continuing their investigations after 10 dogs were left abandoned near Moffat last weekend.
A pack of 10 large canines were left to wander the B719 between Moffat and Greenhillstairs on Saturday night. They were discovered on Sunday morning by members of the public, and police and volunteers rushed to the scene to help.
However, four of the dogs ended up being shot by a farmer after they separated from the pack and killed a sheep.
A Police Scotland spokesperson added: “On Sunday morning officers were made aware of a sheep being killed and another being attacked in the Moffat area after a number of dogs were found roaming unaccompanied.
“Four of the dogs were shot and destroyed as a result of this incident.
“Officers attended and safely secured six of the dogs who are being cared for by local kennels. “Enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact police, quoting incident 0988 of 9 July.”
The remaining six dogs were eventually rescued and moved to Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre.Lee Herron, who runs the Lost Dogs Dumfries and Galloway Facebook group, was alerted to the incident and she attended with her husband to help secure the dogs.
After a few hours, all of the animals were safely on leads, and, at first, they were taken to Lockerbie Police Station.
Lee said: “The dogs seemed to have never had collars or leads on before. Nine out of ten times a dog that is loose and running is scared, so you have got to build trust and gain respect with them.
“I’m really glad we managed to keep the six of them together.”
Lee was also quick to praise the community spirit after people rushed to help by blocking roads and bringing supplies, she added: “We did an appeal for crates and within 15 minutes we had everything that we needed. The local community were brilliant.
“Everybody pulled together to help these dogs. They are going to have a better future now.”
Lee has set up a fund for the Moffat dogs. Details can be found on Facebook at – Lost Dogs Dumfries and Galloway.
She would also like to express her gratitude to the police and members of the community who gave their help in what was a real team effort.
Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre offered to take in the rescuees at their base near Glencaple.
They have now had a few days to settle down and have all been given names.
Canine rescue centre assistant manager, John Foot said: “We just offered space and they were brought to us on Sunday.”
Little is currently known about the type of breed, relationships between the animals and their personalities, but John says all will be uncovered in time.
He added: “It’s early days. They’re safe. It’s going to take them quite a while to decompress. They’re a large breed and in time we could find out. At the moment they’re very timid.
“We encounter this a lot, dog’s come into us with no background history.
“It is just a time thing now. We will learn about the dogs and let them show us their characters.”
The end goal would be to find the dogs loving homes but John stressed that will take time.
He said: “It is too early to say when that will be. It’s going to take us several weeks to work with them.
“It’s sad that it does happen but that is what we are here for, to pick up the pieces when it does. We look after dogs and provide them with happy outcomes.”
The six new additions take the centre’s dog population up to 39. They rely on donations to run and are always on the lookout for more volunteers and people who are interested in adoption.
More information can be found on their website: www.caninerescue.co.uk
