Woman 'devastated' after stray dog she rescued put down when she called for help
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A woman who describes herself as a "huge animal lover" has criticised the police, the council and the vets after a stray dog was put down on New Year's Day. Stephanie Fletcher found the Staffordshire Bull Terrier wandering the streets of Stoke-on-Trent on New Year's Eve and took the dog into her Birches Head home. However, the dog bit Stephanie and began acting "aggressively" after she took the animal in.
But the 45-year-old struggled to find help as Animal Lifeline was full - and she claimed that Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire Police and vets refused to help. Eventually, the dog was put down, and Stephanie said she was left devastated. She told Stoke-on-Trent Live: "A neighbour helped me get him in with a washing line around his collar. When I took him in and posted about it on Facebook, I thought the owner would come and claim it pretty quickly. But they didn't.
"After about two hours, I went to a vets. They wouldn't scan him as they said he seemed aggressive in the front of my car and told me to take him to Animal Lifeline instead. But they were full, so they wouldn't take him either. "Animal Lifeline told me to take him to Lime Trees Vets, in Meir. They said they'd ring ahead and tell them I was coming. But, again, when I arrived they told me they didn't know why I'd brought him as they can't take in an aggressive dog.
"They told me to ring the dog warden for collection. So I took him back to my house and had him in the back. I have a dog and a cat, and I couldn't have him mixing with them, so I kept them separate in the front." Stephanie, who nicknamed the Staffy Buddy, added: "My dog got excited and started growling and barking through the doors. This frightened Buddy, who started growling and then nipped me – only very gently, mind.
