A loving dog was left struggling for hours after her owners tied her to a giant rock and threw her in a river in an attempt to get rid of her.
11-year-old Bella the German Shepherd made a miraculous recovery after her owners tied a big rock to her collar before hurling her into River Trent in the UK.
According to the local reports, the poor dog was struggling to survive in the water for hours before Jane Harper spotted her while walking by the river.
After getting removed from the freezing water, Bella was rushed to the vet and diagnosed with a series of related health conditions. Following her rescue, the pooch had to undergo 15 months of grueling rehabilitation before RSPCA concluded she was ready for a new home.
Eventually, Bella was taken in by Charlie Douglas and Maggie Mellish who described her as the perfect match for their family.
“We were horrified by what happened to Bella and when we came to see her we realized what a great personality she has and she really is perfect for us,” Charlie expressed.
Since the horrible incident, the authorities have also identified Bella’s previous owner as 32-year-old Charlene Latham.
As Latham claimed, her ex-boyfriend, 33-year-old Leigh Johnson, attempted to drown the dog even though she begged him not to. Nevertheless, she pleaded guilty to causing the animal’s suffering because she failed to help her dog or alert the authorities about her ex-partner’s actions.
While Latham was given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay a small fee, Johnson made it off unpunished because the RSPCA reportedly didn’t have sufficient evidence to prosecute him.
“There was a deliberate attempt to drown her. Thrown into the river Trent in the middle of the night,” Radcliffe Animal Centre manager Ella Carpenter said during her appearance on This Morning.
“She spent hours there until thankfully two dog walkers spotted her moving and her eyes flicker in the water around eight o’clock in the morning. They acted quickly they got into the water very bravely.
“They pulled her out and upon doing that discovered that she was tied to a rock and the enormity of what was a deliberate attempt to drown her hit home and they called the police and they got her to a local veterinary surgeon and then here to start her recovery.”
Though she has been through a lot, Bella will now get to spend the rest of her life in good hands.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends. For more news and stories, follow us on Facebook!
Replaced!