Animal charity seeking fundraising support

The Scottish SPCA has launched a new fundraising campaign after experiencing its busiest year ever in 2021.

Scotland’s animal welfare charity has experienced unprecedented levels of demand on its services after responding to an average of over 235 reports of animals in need every single day last yeay.

The charity, which has a rescue and rehoming centre in Hamilton, has also experienced an increase in average days in care for all types of animals due to the impact of Covid-19 on animal cruelty prosecutions, meaning many of its nine rescue centres have been at capacity.

Many of those calls are due to the public’s increasing appetite for lockdown pups stretching the Society’s resources as they fight to tackle the barbaric puppy trade, with more than 200 puppies seized from low-welfare breeders since the beginning of 2020.

They have also seen an increase in calls from owners who are struggling to afford veterinary care and those struggling to cope with the behavioural issues animals purchased during lockdown now have.

The Scottish SPCA does not put healthy animals to sleep, so animals who come into the centres with challenging behavioural or medical problems can be with them for months, or even years, while the team rehabilitate and care for them until the animal is ready to be rehomed or released back in to the wild.

One such animal was Mya the German shepherd, who arrived at the Hamilton centre emaciated and with complex medical needs.

Weighing just 17.11kg and suffering from chronic diarrhoea, the team put Mya on a strict feeding regime and special diet to help her gain weight.

Upon further investigation, Scottish SPCA vets diagnosed her with a condition called EPI – exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. This lifelong condition meant Mya was unable to properly digest her food and absorb nutrients, leading to her weight loss.

With the help of the correct medication, Mya began to get better but, as her weight increased, she began to become lame on her front legs.

After some x-rays she was diagnosed with a condition called panosteititis, which is an inflammatory condition affecting the long bones in dogs.

With the right diagnosis, medication and care, Mya’s condition continued to improve and she was eventually ready to find a loving forever home.

By the time she left for her new home, after 251 days in the Society’s care, her weight was a healthy 27.2kg.

Gillian Boyle, manager of the Hamilton centre, said: “The past two years have been a really challenging time for the team.

“Throughout the pandemic it’s been business as usual here and we’ve been busier than ever. Last year we cared for 1572 animals at our centre alone.

“We always do our best to help every animal, like Mya, who comes in to our care and make sure they find the perfect home, no matter how long that process takes.

“We’re so grateful to all our supporters as we wouldn’t be able to do this work without them. We’d be so grateful for anything people can spare and we know the animals in our care will be too.”

To find out more about the campaign, and to donate to the Scottish SPCA, head to https://bit.ly/3mg8xew

In need of care Mya the German shepherd went on a special diet