Dog left to die of thirst in Police Station
ALAN MCEWEN CRIME REPORTER
POLICE officers were today facing possible animal cruelty charges after a greyhound died of thirst when it was left alone for ten days at a Lothian police station.
The dog's death has sparked an investigation led by a senior police chief while a report is expected to be sent to the procurator fiscal within days
The fiscal will then decide whether charges should be brought against any officers over the death of the dog at Dalkeith police station.
The stray brindle greyhound was placed in a holding kennel at the station after being picked up by officers on January 2.
It is thought the officer at the front desk, who is not normally based at the station, logged its details but did not pass on the information. As greyhounds rarely bark, no-one was alerted to the dog's suffering and it died silently in agony.
Police only became aware something was wrong when they noticed an unpleasant smell from the kennel in the station courtyard on January 12.
Lothian and Borders Police said today the "tragic situation" was being treated "very seriously".
Alongside the report to the fiscal, police are carrying out an internal inquiry to decide whether any officers will be hit with disciplinary action.
It is believed officers could face charges of animal cruelty and abandonment.
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which would normally be informed within 24 hours of a dog being picked-up by police, has also been alerted to the case and the charity will conduct a separate independent inquiry.
A police spokesman said: "This is a tragic situation and we express our sympathies. We want to stress that we are treating this matter very seriously.
"We have appointed a senior officer to investigate all the circumstances under internal conduct procedures.
"We have also reported the matter to the SSPCA and they have allocated a senior officer to carry out a separate, independent inquiry.
"We would not, at this stage, want to pre-judge either inquiry, but we are determined they will be thorough and look at every stage of the process from the moment the dog first came to our attention.
"The inquiry will also determine whether misconduct proceedings are necessary and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal."
It was reported today that inquiries into the case had been hampered as the officers who found the decomposing body, yards from the station's car park, immediately got rid of it.
A spokeswoman for the SSPCA confirmed that the organisation was assisting the police with its investigation into the dog's death.
She said: "We are obviously concerned about this and we have offered the police our help in terms of getting to the bottom of this tragic case."
The dog is likely to have died from dehydration. Although under-nourished when it was brought in, there is no evidence that it was ill. It is likely the greyhound was an ex-racing dog abandoned by its owners.
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From the Daily Record 25/01/2007:
I DUMPED DEATH DOG
THE owner of a greyhound left to die in police kennels yesterday admitted he dumped it at the cop shop.
Trainer Colin Kerr, 44, handed three-year-old Major over to officers in Dalkeith, Midlothian, claiming he was a stray.
In fact, the dog was a racer he had bought weeks earlier.
Kerr, of Dalkeith, said: "I feel terrible. I have never inflicted any cruelty on an animal and I thought I was doing the right thing."
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