A sweet terrier cross has slowly started to trust humans again after suffering horrific abuse.
Little Petal was rescued by Dogs Trust after being cruelly stuffed into a black bin bag and thrown over a bridge. ‘Petal is one of those horror stories,’ says Richard Moore, manager of the re-homing centre in Harefield.‘She was handed to the dog warden after reportedly being thrown from a bridge in a bin bag, and the dog warden contacted us.’
The canine was immediately placed in foster care with canine carers who provided her with all the love and patience she deserved.
Steven and Valerie Macdougall, who took Petal in last winter, say they immediately fell in love with her.Wow, check out those choppers! Puppies have 28 teeth and normal adult dogs have 42.
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‘She’s absolutely tiny – the size of a cat – but is actually about seven or eight years old.’
The pair decided to adopt Petal and give her the happy ending she deserved. But Steve adds that it took a while for Petal to be confident around humans.Instead she preferred the company of dogs – something which prompted the couple to adopt another animal in need.
Steven says: ‘We’ve seen such a lot of improvement, but it was extremely slow going until recently. She would only play when we weren’t in the room – we set up hidden cameras to watch her.
‘She had shown us that she really liked to be around other dogs – much more than people – so after a long time waiting for the right match, we fostered another Dogs Trust dog, Penny.’INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Forty-five percent of pet owners say they occasionally (or frequently) buy presents for their animals.
‘It’s awful to imagine what she must have gone through. Seeing her as she is now, playing with Penny – it’s the happy ever after I was hoping for,’ Steven adds.
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