Tied to bricks and left to die

Dec 5 2006 By Catherine Lillington, Birmingham Mail

THIS is the shocking image of a dog found scarred and bloated in a Birmingham canal, its head tethered to bricks.

The body was found floating in a stretch of water near Pear Tree Crescent, Yardley Wood, with the head tied to the deadly weight.

The dog, believed to be a Staffordshire bull terrier cross, was pulled on to the bank by two friends who were sickened by what they saw.

Alex Jordan, aged 36, of Daimler Road, Yardley Wood, said: "We saw four feet sticking up out of the water and we grabbed hold of the front paws to pull it out.

"The dog had a choker chain on with a lead which was wrapped around the bricks.

"My friend cried out when we first saw the dog.

"I've never seen anything so horrific - we had to leave it for a minute and look away."

Mary Gibbons, aged 56, of Daimler Road, said: "We thought it had been a stooge for a fighting dog because it had what looked like bite marks all over. I feel so angry that somebody could do something like this."

It follows a cruel attack on a Staffordshire bull terrier which was tied to a tree and burned to death on Handsworth Golf Course, as reported by the Birmingham Mail in February.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: "Obviously the dog was thrown in deliberately, but we couldn't tell whether it was dead or alive at the time.

"It may have already been dead and someone was trying to get rid of the body, but if it was weighed down with bricks it was a horrific act of cruelty."

Anyone with information is urged to call 0870 555 5999.