Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Don't take strays to the Police

An enquiry has been launched after a stray Greyhound starved to death in police kennels after it was picked up by officers and then left for ten days.

The dog died of thirst at Dalkeith Police station. It is thought that the dog was placed in a holding kennel and nobody was notified of its presence from then on. The police only became aware of the presence of the dog, which was dead by this time, upon detecting a strong smell on January 12.

Lothian and Borders Police have began an enquiry to find out who was at fault, and have said that it "could" result in disciplinary action.

A force spokesman said: "This is a tragic situation and we express our sympathy. We want to stress we are treating this matter very seriously. We are appointing a senior officer to investigate all the circumstances. We also reported the matter to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) and they've allocated a senior officer to carry out a separate independent inquiry. We would not want at this stage to pre-judge either inquiry but we are determined that they will be thorough. The inquiry will also determine whether conduct proceedings are necessary."

A spokeswoman for the SSPCA said: "We have offered our assistance to police in their investigation."

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