Dog who was beaten, tied in a sack and dumped in river miraculously survives by poking its nose out to breathe
A Spanish sighthound miraculously survived after being tied in a plastic bag and dumped in a river by somehow managing to poke its nose out of the sack to breathe while it was floating in the water. Two bike riders found three dogs, all Spanish sighthounds (or Spanish Greyhounds), in Gil Gomez de Arahal, in the province of Seville in Spain on 30 June, the Daily Mail reported.
The bike riders, whose names have not been revealed, reportedly called Olga Diana, president of the El Amparo del Sur animal protection association, to the scene. According to her, the riders "saw there was a noise coming from one of them (the bags) and the bag was open and the dog ran away but it came back by itself shortly after."
Volunteers from the association rushed to the scene and summoned the authorities after discovering the three dogs. Olga said all had been microchipped and belonged to the same owner. The three pooches, all sighthounds, had been beaten and placed inside sacks and tied with a rope, the Spanish Civil Guard confirmed in a press statement. They were thrown into the river and only one managed to survive by getting its nose out of the bag to breathe.
Volunteers can be seen taking care of the wounded dog as sacks containing the other dogs are pulled from the river in a footage. The surviving pooch looks on as the bodies of the other dogs can be seen packed into the sacks with visible wounds. A 60-year-old man residing in the town of Arahal is currently being investigated as the alleged suspect in the dogs' abuse and deaths. Meanwhile, the owner of the dogs, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is due to give a statement as part of the investigation.
The surviving sighthound had suffered a serious blow to the head, vets at the Moron de la Frontera veterinary clinic said. They also found injuries to its limbs and further injuries to its nose caused by a makeshift muzzle. The seemingly malnourished pooch, named Gabi, is seen in a video being cared for on the vet's table. She was also found to be infected with parasites.
According to Olga, Gabi is undergoing a steady recovery but is "scared of men and avoids them." Meanwhile, the El Amparo del Sur association is searching for a loving family to take the dog into their household. Both the association and the animal rights political party PACMA in Seville have reported the case, according to PACMA coordinator Javier Sanabria.
According to him, killing sighthounds "used to happen, especially in areas where hunting with greyhounds is common, like in Andalusia and Castilla La Mancha." He explained that it was done "for many reasons, they are getting old, they are useless, because the animal does not have the skills they want, but not all greyhounds are hunters or have the skills for hunting."
"According to reports from Affinity, more than 50,000 greyhounds are abandoned in Spain every year," Sanabria added. That said, an investigation into the incident and the suspect is ongoing. So far, no arrests have been made.