There are fears of foul play after a dead dog was found near a children’s playpark in Angus.
Officers from the Scottish SPCA are appealing for information following the discovery of the animal’s badly decomposed body in the Timmergreens area of Arbroath.
Police received the initial call to deal with the canine, which seemed to have been buried in a shallow grave underneath a bush in a park near Spitalfield Place.
Fears have surfaced in the community the dog may have been killed and dumped by its owners.
Ian Robb of Angus Help for Abandoned Animals said he suspected the worst, due to the fact that a haphazard attempt had been made to bury the animal.
”I can’t believe that somebody would do that,” he said. ”This is the kind of thing that used to go on a long time ago when greyhound owners would get rid of their dogs by battering them over the head with a shovel or axe or hanging them from trees.
”It is going to be very difficult to prove anything if the dog has been dead for a long time. These things can be investigated but usually they will never find out exactly what happened to the poor animal.”
SSPCA chief inspector Brian Cowing confirmed the agency had received a report of a dead dog found in a park near Spitalfield Place, Arbroath.
”The dog had been deceased for some time and was too far decomposed to make it possible to conduct a post mortem examination to establish the cause of death.
”If anyone knows of any foul play in relation to this incident we would advise them to contact the police or our animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”