By Graeme Bletcher

A FIFE woman has hit out at Fife Constabulary after poor communication led to her lost dog avoiding a lethal injection by just a few days.

Susan Wilson from Methil contacted police following an all-night search for elderly family pet Gazza, after his disappearance on Thursday, May 29.

Unknown to her, the 14-year-old labrador/collie cross was found by Fife Council Dog Control in Diageo’s Banbeath bottling plant the next day, and was taken to Langdyke Boarding Kennels to await collection.

It was not until a neighbour spotted an appeal for the dog’s owner to come forward on Tuesday, June 10, that Mrs Wilson and Gazza were reunited.

She said, “I’m so happy to have him back. We have been looking for him every night. The grandchildren love him and they have been so upset.

“I’m really annoyed with the police.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous. Do the dog wardens and the police not talk to each other?

“It was just lucky that the woman at the kennels got so attached to him, otherwise he would have been put down.”

Sylvia Pass runs Langdyke Kennels near Kennoway, where Gazza was housed for 11 nights.

She said, “We had said he would have to go to the vet to be put down on Monday if nobody had come forward from the appeal.

“He is a very old, friendly dog and when Mrs Wilson came to collect him I was so happy; we were both in tears.

“Dogs are not put to sleep if they are rehomeable. Unfortunately, he is about 75% deaf and 50% blind and has problems with his back end.”

Gazza is yellow coloured with white markings and was named after former Rangers footballer Paul Gascoigne, on account of the star’s bleach-blond hair at the time.

A police spokesperson said that while all police stations kept a log of lost dogs, it was collected and dealt with by Fife Council dog wardens.