Dog Survives Beating And Being Thrown Into River In Bag

Story ByAna LacasaSub EditorMichael LeidigAgencyNewsflash

Newsflash/El Amparo del Sur

This is the moment a dog which had been beaten and thrown into a river inside a sack is treated after being rescued, although two other pooches were brutally killed in the same way.

The three dogs, all Spanish sighthounds (Galgo Espanol), were found by two bike riders in the area known as Gil Gomez de Arahal, in the province of Seville, in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, near the Guadaira River on 30th June.

Olga Diana, president of the El Amparo del Sur animal protection association, told Newsflash that had driven there in a car after being called to the scene by the bike riders, whose names have not been revealed.

The riders, she said, “saw there was a nose 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”.

Olga said volunteers from the association went to the scene and called the police after they found the three dogs, which all had been microchipped and belonged to the same person.

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed in a press statement that the three dogs had been beaten and placed inside sacks which were then closed with a rope.

The dogs, all sighthounds, were then thrown into the river and only the survivor managed to get its nose out of the bag to breathe.

Newsflash/El Amparo del Sur

In the video, volunteers can be seen caring for the wounded dog whilst the sacks containing the other dogs are pulled from the river.

The bodies of the dogs can be seen packed into the sacks with visible wounds to their heads as the surviving pooch looks on.

The Civil Guard confirmed a 60-year-old man who lives in the town of Arahal is being investigated as the alleged perpetrator.

The owner of the dogs, who has not been named, has been asked to give a statement as part of the police investigation.

The sighthound which survived was taken to the Moron de la Frontera veterinary clinic where vets found it had suffered a serious blow to the head, injuries to its legs and further injuries to its nose caused by an improvised muzzle.

A video shows the seemingly undernourished sighthound on the vet’s table and then being cared for in a cage.

The dog named Gabi was also infected with parasites and Olga told Newsflash the pooch is recovering properly but “it is scared of men and avoids them”.

She said they are looking to have the dog officially given to the association so they can help find it a news family.

Newsflash/El Amparo del Sur

Javier Sanabria, coordinator of the political party PACMA (an animal rights political party) in Seville, told Newsflash that both the association and the political party have reported the case.

He told Newsflash killing sighthounds “used to happen, especially in areas where hunting with greyhounds is common, like in Andalusia and Castilla La Mancha,” adding it is 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.”

The investigation is ongoing and so far no arrests have been made but the suspect remains under investigation.