ANIMAL welfare officers are vowing to track down a heartless dog owner who tied the legs of a greyhound before leaving it to drown in a cattle trough.

The tan-coloured adult dog is the second greyhound RSPCA officers have retrieved from the trough at the bottom of Bad Bargain Lane, in York, in a matter of months.

After the first incident, back in November, an owner was traced but the RSPCA was unable to prosecute because there were no witnesses.

But this time officers are convinced someone must have heard or seen the latest act of cruelty.

RSPCA Chief Inspector for North Yorkshire and the East Riding, Paul Stilgoe, said he believed the dog was still alive when it was dumped in the trough.

He said: "This is an horrendous act of cruelty. The animal's legs were tied very tightly together and you cannot do that very easily and without the dog making a lot of noise."

Ch Insp Stilgoe added: "We are constantly investigating complaints of cruelty against dogs and these are just two of a similar nature.

"There has been no real increase in incidences of cruelty over recent months but these two are extraordinarily alike and equally horrendous."

He urged people who have unwanted dogs to take them to the RSPCA animal home in Landing Lane, York, rather than simply turning animals out on to the street, or worse.

Ch Insp Stilgoe said although the animal home is always full, he would much rather people take animals there than leave officers with the grim task of retrieving bodies from troughs.

Anyone who has any information about the dog or who saw anything suspicious in the area over the last few days should contact the RSPCA national cruelty hotline on 0990 555 999.

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