Shocking moment dog owner threw his greyhound into the sea
HE’S wrapped up against the cold, but this man had no such worries for his greyhound – hurling it into the icy sea and forcing it to swim for its life.
The RSPCA is investigating after a series of individuals were spotted ‘cruelly’ throwing their animals into the water on North Sands beach in Hartlepool.
One witness described what she saw as ‘horrific’.
A father out with his children said he saw three men walk a group of dogs along a concrete pipe that led out into deeper water. They then threw the dogs into the rough sea and waited while they swam inland before hauling them back out again. The man, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We saw them being carried out to the end of the structure and then unceremoniously flung in. The waves were quite strong. There was a significant number of dogs and it appeared that they were being taken out one by one.’
A dog walker, who also asked not to be named, said: ‘I spotted the blokes and there were about seven to nine dogs on leads. One then walked a dog down the pier, lifted it up and put it in the water. We were just in shock – you hear of people getting rid of greyhounds that way. He didn’t pull the dog along, it had to swim for itself. To throw a dog in the waves like that is horrific.’
Her story was then posted on Facebook, sparking outrage among animal lovers, although some said it might have been a form of hydrotherapy exercise, which can be used to improve dogs’ fitness. She added: ‘To put dogs in the sea for hydrotherapy – I can understand them doing it on a sunny day. But the sea was awful. I don’t know how they didn’t get washed away.’
John Stephenson,of Greyhound Rescue Northeast, said: ‘I have never heard of anything like this before, there is no logic to it.’
The RSPCA said: ‘We received a distressing report that a group of men were seen repeatedly throwing a greyhound into the water. An inspector attended the scene but the group had moved on.’