THREE dogs and a budgie had to be rescued from a house after their owner was taken to hospital and diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Officers from the RSPCA were called to West Lancashire last week after they were contacted for help by a neighbour of the ill pet owner.

However, nobody was allowed to enter the house for 72 hours due to the risk of contamination, meaning the animals had to wait until Monday to be rescued.

Once dressed in full PPE and with a key from the neighbour, Inspector Paul Heaton and Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) Dave Hatton were able to attend the scene and rescue the animals.

Paul said: “We had the full PPE clothing on with face masks and shoe covers and we were able to carry out the safe rescue of these pets.

“I went in the house to rescue the pets and put them in my van to transfer to a kennel while Dave followed me in his van. 

“As he had not come into contact with the house he took the pets inside the kennels while I disinfected the van. All the procedures were in place to get these pets the help they needed.”

Two Yorkshire Terriers and a Cairn Terrier-cross as well as a budgie were taken from the property and were all in good health. They are now in the care of the RSPCA and will remain with the charity until the owner recovers from his illness.

The animal welfare charity is continuing to care for animals who need them the most and helping pet owners during these difficult times.

The officers are now responding to emergencies only but they are also helping their local communities where they can in delivering pet food and medicines, taking animals for emergency vet treatment and transporting pets for care if their owner has gone into hospital or sadly died.

Dermot Murphy, Chief Inspectorate Officer at the RSPCA, said: “These are unprecedented times but we want to make sure that animal welfare is maintained so our officers remain on the frontline helping animals and pet owners who need us the most.

“As well as dealing with emergencies, many of our officers are going the extra mile and helping pets and their owners affected by Covid-19. For those who need to self-isolate, taking their pet to the vet for urgent treatment has become impossible and for those who have been taken into hospital with the virus, there is a huge strain on local authorities to take the animals which is why we are helping with transportation.

“We are still receiving many calls and the emergency calls must come first but our officers are helping those affected by the virus where they can.”