Burned puppy abandoned in street

Freebie was discovered in the middle of a road in Wrexham

A three-week-old puppy is recovering after she was burned with cigarettes and had her tail chopped in two.

Sheila Stewart from Capricorn Animal Sanctuary near Mold is looking after the Jack Russell cross called Freebie.

"She had three little red circles on her belly which looked like cigarette burns, she had sores all over her body, injuries to her joints and half her tail has gone," she said.

Freebie arrived on New Year's Day after a motorist found her in the road.

When Freebie was discovered in Wrexham she could hardly stand up and she was moaning, Ms Stewart said.

I've never had so many animals in who've needed so much treatment Sheila Stewart, Capricorn Animal Sanctuary

Between Christmas and New Year's Day 10 rabbits, four dogs, two cats, five kittens, a hedgehog, a chicken and an owl were all brought to the sanctuary.

"I've never had so many animals in needing so much treatment," said Ms Stewart, an animal carer for 45 years.

But she is worried that her charity might be affected as a consequence of the huge public response to the tsunami disaster appeal.

She said: "I know it's a terrible disaster but a lot of the small local charities rely on the small donations but they're not coming in.

"I've been in shops where they wouldn't let us have collection boxes and now they've got buckets [for the tsunami appeal] on the counter.

"I know you can't equate animals with people but we have to carry on," Ms Stewart added.

The animal carer has to pay an average vets bill of up to £1,000 a month.

As for Freebie, the sanctuary has received more than 100 calls from people wanting to take care of the puppy.

Ms Stewart said all potential homes will be visited before the puppy is re-housed in a few weeks time.

Ms Stewart said the puppy has had a terrible start to life but she will turn out to be "one of the lucky ones".