Starving dog dumped on pavement

Willow only weighs 11kg, instead of the normal 28kg

Animal welfare experts are trying to trace the people who dumped a starving dog on the pavement on a cold night.

The German shepherd, which has been named Willow, was spotted collapsed on the ground at about 2230 GMT on Raglan Street in Dundee on Sunday.

Willow is thought to be about three years old and weighs 11kg - the normal weight for a dog her size is 28kg.

Vets said she is still so weak she finds it difficult to stand and walk, and had suffered muscle wastage.

'Full recovery'

Senior SSPCA inspector, Laura Higgins, told the BBC Scotland News website that it would have taken weeks or months for Willow to deteriorate into such a condition.

She said: "The vets confirmed the pads on her feet are so soft it means she hasn't been out on concrete or rough ground, so she's been kept contained someplace and deliberately starved.

"It's shocking that somebody out there has done this to this dog and felt that they could just abandon her.

"Left lying late at night, in the condition that she's in, she wouldn't have survived the night out in the cold.

"She's expected to make a full recovery, however she's not out of the woods yet as her major organs are under stress due to her being starved."