'Long road ahead' for 82 dogs rescued from house

RSPCA branches in and around Yorkshire have taken in more than 80 dogs which were rescued from a house in Doncaster where they had been living in squalid conditions.

When police officers and RSPCA staff entered the rural property in Tickhill on 17 April, they were met with "faeces, filth and, round every corner and room, more dogs".

Seventy-eight of the 82 dogs found were springer spaniels, with one pregnant, one needing major surgery and many with "sores all over their bodies", the charity said.

Sisters Megan and Katy were "frozen with fear, emotionally shattered, and terrified of every sound and movement" when they arrived, the Halifax district branch said.

"Megan's coat is stained with urine, it's covered in faeces, and she's completely shut down. It's going to be a very long road to recovery for both of the girls," the shelter's staff said.

After the rescue, the dogs were taken to a number of RSPCA shelters, including the South Yorkshire Animal Centre in nearby Bawtry.

Two of them have already been put into foster care in Sheffield, though RSPCA staff warned that the older dogs could be less adaptable to new situations.

One of the four non-spaniels discovered, a Patterdale terrier who has been named Pepsi, is also in the Sheffield shelter's care.

Five 10-month-old puppies being looked after by the Chesterfield branch have made recoveries "nothing short of miraculous", the shelter wrote on social media.

"Their sores are healing, they have gained weight, and they are learning the ropes of what it is to be puppies: to play, to trust, to love."

The Doncaster, Rotherham and District branch is caring for a mother and two puppies, as well as one dog in recovery from major surgery, it said.

"We have a long road ahead, requiring a great deal of tender loving care, treatment, and rehabilitation for these vulnerable animals," it added.

"Our only goal is to ensure that these dogs get the care, love and patience they so very deserve so that we can rehabilitate and rehome when the time is right."

The York, Harrogate and District Branch is preparing for the arrival of yet more spaniels, with "one brave girl" expecting puppies "very soon", it said.

It is holding a fundraiser to support the nine dogs currently in its care, charging £2 to enter a naming suggestion into a random draw.

"Now, as they begin their journey to recovery, we want to give these puppies something they've never had before - a name and a future filled with hope," it wrote on social media.

One spaniel's basic care costs about £400, according to the Halifax shelter, meaning more than £41,000 is needed across the local branches, which do not get funding from the central RSPCA.

South Yorkshire Police have now passed the investigation into the dogs' ordeal to the RSPCA's inspectors.

Residents of Tickhill have shared their shock on social media at the decrepit condition of the house, believed to be on an isolated lane, and questioned why the animals' living situation was not reported to authorities earlier.

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