Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Cruel thieves have stolen this injured pooch’s wheelchair and left the helpless animal in the street unable to walk.

The incident took place in the city of Chimbote in the province of Santa in the northern Pacific coast of Peru when the wheelchair which had been paid for by local residents was stolen.

The pet’s owner Paola Villareal found the dog, named Rocky, in a park after the thieves had taken the wheelchair and left the dog there.

Villareal told local media: “I found him at around 1:00 p.m., there were no signs he had been crawling so he had been there for hours and it seems like they took the wheelchair and left him there.”

Villareal has now placed ‘shoes’ on Rocky’s injured legs.

Rocky was reportedly adopted a few years ago by Villareal when she found the pooch crawling with its legs injured after it was run over.

The dog received its wheelchair after neighbours rose 120 PEN (28 GBP) to pay for it.

The owner of the pooch and the animal organisation ‘Fundacion Animalista’ have organised a birthday party for Rocky to raise funds and buy a new wheelchair for the dog.

A local resident told TV channel ‘Latina Noticias’: “They will not be able to use the wheelchair as they need to find a dog with the same features as Rocky. They should return it and not do it again.”

It is unclear if a police investigation has been launched into the incident.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.