Horror as dog found hanged off country road after being 'thrown down embankment'

A dog was found hanging by the neck beside a country road in Bolton after being 'deliberately thrown down embankment', the RSPCA has said.

The grim discovery of the body of the young Belgian Malinois was down the side of an embankment off Stones Bank Road in Bolton by a passing member of the public.

The male dog, who was wearing a metal chain, had become caught on a pole. It took the horrified finder several hours to get the body down and take the animal to a vet.

READ MORE Man 'seriously assaulted' in 4am street attack outside pub fighting for his life

The RSPCA says it believes the dog had been 'deliberately thrown down the bank' before becoming 'entangled on the pole'. It is not known whether the dog was dead or alive at the time.

A scan at the vet showed the dog was microchipped but the details had not been kept-up-to date. The last registered keeper said he had sold the one-and-a-half-year old Malinois to another man about nine or ten months previously.

The RSPCA was contacted and the charity has been making enquiries since. Anyone with information is being urged to come forward amid investigations.

RSPCA inspector Rachel Whalley, who thanked the member of the public for taking action, said: “The dog was also examined at our animal hospital in Greater Manchester but sadly the state of decomposition was such that a post mortem would not have been able to establish a cause of death.

“Nevertheless, we’re concerned about how this young dog came to be found in these circumstances and we’d urge anyone with first-hand information to get in touch.”

Anyone who recognises the dog or has information about the incident can contact the RSPCA’s appeal line, in confidence, on 0300 123 8018 quoting reference number 01262813.