RSPCA: Dog discovered after being dumped down a manhole

Friday, 29 October 2010 12:00 AM

Adam Price was working at Green Lane, Walsall, near Birmingham on Tuesday morning (26.10.10) when he heard crying coming from under the ground.

He at first presumed it was a child screaming at a nearby home but a couple of hours later heard the noise again, then saw breath coming from a gap in a manhole cover and hitting the cold air.

The workman lifted the plastic lid and discovered the brown and white dog, which has been named Flash, squashed into the tiny space.

She was trembling, distressed and very wet and it is believed that she had been stuck in the confined space overnight.

Flash, thought to be about six years old, was helped out of the cramped manhole and taken to Adam's van where he fed her his lunchtime sandwiches and gave her a warm place to recover from her ordeal. The RSPCA were called and Flash is now being looked after at Birmingham Animal Centre, Barnes Hill.

Adam said: "She was jammed in pretty tight down there - the manhole just wasn't big enough for her. I had to lie down to pull her out and she had been forced to stand on her back legs in an upright position - like a meercat.

"She must have been down there, stuck into that position, for a while because she barely walk when she came out. I gave her sandwiches and put the heating on in the van, and she seemed to cheer up a bit once she had dried off. All the boys came along and made a bit of a fuss of her. "It was very lucky that I found her as water comes into that drain when it rains and she could have drowned.

"It shocked me that someone could do something like that - it was so extreme."

RSPCA Inspector Simon Davies said: "It was very fortunate that they heard Flash over all the noise. It is quite a busy road and even noisier with the roadworks going on.

"Thankfully she seems a lot better now and does not seem to have suffered any long-term ill effects from the ordeal. She is such a placid, friendly girl.

"She was definitely put down the hole by someone but it is hard to know whether this was a nasty prank or an abandonment. It very unusual to find a dog dumped in this way.

"They are normally dumped out of a car, or tied up by the side of a road somewhere, or taken for a wander and then left.

"We would be very grateful if anyone with any information would contact us on 0300 1234 999 quoting 678 of 26/10/10.

Notes to editors:

. Images and interviews with Adam and the inspector are available on request. Please call the press Office to arrange on 0300 123 0244/0288.

RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS
Press office direct lines: 0300 123 0244/0288 Fax: 0303 123 0099
Duty press officer (evenings and weekends) Tel 08448 222888 and ask for pager number 828825
Email: press@rspca.org.uk Website: www.rspca.org.uk

Tags: