Dog mistaken for ‘pile of rags’ dumped near Oldham

Morris the shih tzu was found lying next to a bench by a walker near Ashton Canal, at Portland Basin, in Ashton who initially thought he was a pile of rags.

On closer inspection, the walker made the shocking discovery that the pile was in fact a dog and carried him home before taking him to a nearby vets, who contacted the RSPCA.

Animal rescuer inspector Ryan King rushed Morris to the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital for emergency veterinary treatment.

Staff immediately got to work and shaved off a staggering 1.3 kilograms of matted fur that was preventing Morris from moving.

Morris after he was found (Image: RSPCA)

Once they could see his face, they realised he was also blind in one eye. Morris’s other eye had so many cataracts he needed an operation, but they were unable to save his sight.

Morris was then taken to the RSPCA Lancashire East branch where he began his rehabilitation and a few months later he was adopted by Josephine Newhall, 82, who lives in a bungalow in Wythenshawe.

Josephine said: “We knew he was blind when we took him in but I have the perfect home for him, and he can get in and out of the garden very easily so it is no problem for him. I have also found out he is deaf too - but he doesn’t let these disabilities hold him back at all.”

Morris has settled into his new home and has made friends with Ruby, Josephine's daughter Karen Brookes’s female Lhasa Apso.

Josephine added: “He loves playing with his tennis ball and loves Ruby to visit but she can be boisterous for him sometimes so he will let her know. They are really good friends, and it has helped his confidence.

“Morris is a beautiful little dog and enjoys snuggling up to me on the settee - he is great company and when you think where he has come from it is a miracle he is still here.

“The RSPCA did a fantastic job in rescuing and rehabilitating him and I am glad he has the happy ending he deserves.”

Morris now (Image: RSPCA)

The RSPCA is highlighting Morris’s plight as part of the charity’s Cancel Out Cruelty fund-raising campaign which is calling on the public to support more rescues like Morris.

The charity receives around 91,500 calls to its cruelty line every month and investigates 5,300 reports of deliberate animal cruelty but in the summer, calls rise to 133,000 a month - which is three every minute.

Dermot Murphy, RSPCA inspectorate commissioner, said: “Right now, animal cruelty is happening in England and Wales on a massive scale and rising. Each year, it reaches its terrible annual peak in the summer months – when an animal is beaten on average every hour of every day.

“The cost-of-living crisis also means the cost of rescuing animals is at an all-time high and our vital services are stretched to the limit.”

To help support the RSPCA go to www.rspca.org.uk/cruelty.