Abuse

Twenty-six-year-old Arunas Kastentinavicius, from Perry Close, Staffordshire, faces animal abuse and cruelty charges for allegedly forcing his dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, to wear a heavy collar made of broken bricks and black tape.

The discovery made by shoppers of Mothercare in Stoke-on-Trent, received a lot of media coverage after photographs of the abused dog wearing the heavy collar went viral on the Internet.

When Jadiel, Fernanda, Francisco, Montserrat, Saúl and Juanito, found an injured puppy in their town, Valle del Puebla, Mexicali, Mexico, they knew just what to do. They picked up the dog – that had a mangled rear leg – cared for him, and turned to adults for help. However, they didn’t turn to their parents for help. No, they called a local radio program, Radiopatrulla, and asked for help.

Who could abandon a pregnant dog with deformed legs? Well, this is the question The Cortland Community SPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Department wants answered.

Little Lady, a possible Kelpie and reddish in color, was found on June 29, 2014, on the front lawn of a Cortlandville, New York, home. The homeowner contacted the SPCA and the organization immediately came to rescue the pet.

On July 10, 2014, Hank, an emaciated five-month-old pooch weighing less than 30 pounds was found wandering a Louisville, Ky., neighborhood. Neighbors found the sick dog and knew he needed immediate help. Concerned for the pet’s well being, residents reached out to various animal rescue organizations until they found one who agreed to help nurse the dog back to health.

On May 30, 2014, four dogs were thrown from a moving vehicle into a Phoneix, Ariz., dog park just after 10 p.m. Two dogs, Cairn Terrier mix puppies, and a Chihuahua/MinPin mix are just a few months old. They were picked up by Gil Flores and turned into Arizona’s Humane Society. The fourth dog was spotted by two homeless women who witnessed the cruel act, and cared for the dog overnight.

On July 11, 2014, customers outside a Save-on-Foods store in Maple Ridge, Vancouver, Canada, rescued a Rottweiler trapped inside a parked, hot car.

According to News Vancouver, the temperature that day was 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) and the dog was drooling, panting and barking inside the parked Hummer.

When Rocío Rivas, from Spain, found a stray in deplorable conditions, she didn’t think twice and knew she had to do something to help. Thanks to her kind heart, the actions of many other Spaniards, and the power of social media, the stray’s life was saved.

At the beginning of July, the badly injured canine started roaming the streets of Duancos, Spain. Locals found the dog and helped him. He was hungry, dirty, infested with ticks and fleas, and has an injured leg. It appeared the pet had been hit by a car, but he also showed signs of past abuse.