A GERMAN Shepherd dog was left close to death on a residential road in Rossendale.

Passers-by found the female dog collapsed in Booth Crescent, Waterfoot, last weekend and alerted the RSPCA the next day.

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An inspector, Natalie Taylor, has now urged the public to provide information which can help to establish how the dog, which is mainly black with tan-coloured legs, came to be in such a state.

Insp Taylor, who covers the East Lancashire area, said: “The dog was laid out on the pavement in Booth Crescent. She was unable to stand so the member of public who found her carried the dog, with a friend, to a waiting vehicle and took her home.

“We were called out the next day and collected the dog, which was unable to stand on her back legs and had a large tumour on her chest.

“The German Shepherd was left in an appalling condition and in a very distressed state. It was an older dog and would have had problems with her back legs and hips, and the tumour would have taken time to grow as big as it is.”

One resident who lives off Booth Road, but asked not to be named, added: “No-one around here can believe someone would leave a dog in that state – it just defies belief.

“If they couldn’t afford to look after the dog then they should have called in the RSPCA a lot sooner. You can’t help but think that this dog has been left to suffer for some time and it’s not right.”

The incident follows a case earlier this year in which a Burnley dog owner was prosecuted for leaving two pets without food. The animals were so hungry that they attempted to eat tin cans and rubbish.

If anyone has any details regarding how the dog came to be left on the street, they are asked to call Insp Taylor at the RSPCA’s national control centre on 0300 123 4999, quoting the incident number 1011/06/09/15.