The distressed dogs were found at Bedwas mountain in Caerphilly, Wales before being taken in by a rescue shelter, who said they were ‘petrified’ and ‘very underweight’
People have been left outraged after two dogs were found “dumped” on a freezing cold mountainside in appalling condition.
The distressed dogs were found at Bedwas mountain in Caerphilly on Wednesday afternoon following reports of a driver leaving them behind and driving off. A group of ‘good Samaritans’ banded together for over two hours to corral the frightened canines before they were finally secured and taken to safety.
A spokesperson from the rescue centre described the dogs as scared, underweight, and having matted fur. Ryan Dinapoli, 29, was one of the rescuers, and had been nearby with his own pets.
He told Wales Online: “We made contact with the man [who posted on social media] and met him at the location at around 3.15pm. He had been up there since around 2pm keeping an eye on the dogs with his partner.
“They had been trying to catch the dogs with no luck. When we got there the dogs looked extremely malnourished, extremely dirty and very scared. They were petrified and wouldn’t come anywhere near us. A couple more people turned up and we herded the dogs like sheep.
“We managed to pin them into a corner, slowly edging closer to them. We managed to get close enough to the black dog to lasso her and put my hand on her head to gain trust and show that I wasn’t going to hurt her. I stayed on the floor with the black dog and the tan dog wouldn’t leave its side, which did us a favour as another man tried to get the tan dog.”
Ryan, who owns four dogs himself, spoke of his heartbreak over the situation and said: “It was devastating, it really breaks my heart. The field was very steep, it was icy and around -1C. It also started snowing and started getting dark. They were the worst conditions you could think of, but we got the result we wanted in the end.”
The ordeal lasted until about 5.30pm, when Ryan placed the dogs in his car and drove them to Hope Rescue in Pontyclun. Sara Rosser, head of operations at Hope Rescue, said the dogs are in poor condition and require intensive grooming, but she is hopeful they will make a full recovery.
She said: “We have a bit of work to do, they are very underweight and really matted. It’s hard to see on the photos how muddy and how matted their coats actually are. This is a long-term case of neglect. Despite what was a really distressing ordeal for them, they are really sweet. They are really scared but they are trying desperately hard to make friends with the staff. They are going to be a lovely pair of dogs once they are back to full health.”
Sara revealed that the staff have named the black female dog Lois and the tan male dog Clark. She said that Lois is four-years-old, while Clark is estimated to be around three.
Once they are ready for rehoming, it’s likely they’ll need to stay together as they’ve formed a strong bond. She said: “At the moment they are hugely attached to each other. They want to do everything together. They sleep together and have been cuddling up together. We have got them in a nice big kennel together to give them some comfort. The early signs are that we will try to find them a home together.”
“Because they were found straying they will have to stay with us for seven days, then after that, as long as they are doing well and putting on weight normally, we will assess them for what sort of home they are looking for and hopefully then they will be able to go up for adoption quite quickly. But especially with things like their grooming, it is going to be a bit of an ordeal for them because of how matted they are, so we just want to take it nice and slowly so we make sure we build up trust with them.”
Sara said the charity has already received multiple reports of abandoned animals just a few days into the new year – and has called for pet owners facing difficulties to contact the rescue centre directly. She explained: “We are only on January 9 and already this year this is our second case of dogs abandoned locally in a poor condition. We had two matted Cockapoos a week ago, we’ve also had puppies in with skin conditions. It feels relentless.”
“I think what people don’t always see is the fall out for the dogs to be abandoned in that way is hugely distressing. The team is all here because they love animals and they want the best for them, but it can take an emotional toll. We try very hard to focus on the positives, that those dogs are safe and we can do the best for them.”
“We understand sometimes situations can be desperate, but this is not the way to go about it. It’s not right for the animals and it’s not right for the people helping them. We would urge people to reach out early. While all rescues are under pressure, if we haven’t got room to help those animals we can signpost to other organisations and we can offer advice to prevent it from getting to this point.”
The rescue centre is now seeking information about how the dogs ended up on the mountain. Anyone with information has been asked to get in touch with Hope Rescue UK.