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American Bulldogs ‘executed’ in wake of dangerous dogs outcry

TWO DOGS found slaughtered in a ditch could have been killed over fears they might attack in the wake of lurid media headlines about ‘dangerous dogs’ according to RSPCA officers.

The dogs – said to be American bulldogs were discovered last week by a member of the public in woodland on the edge of Lincoln. The city's RSPCA inspector Dean Astill-Dunseith said he believes the dogs' deaths were linked to a series of highly publicised attacks on children, one of which involved an alleged American Bulldog.

‘A member of the public came into our charity shop in Lincoln and reported the dogs to us,’ he said. ‘They were both fit and healthy before they died - I cannot get over why two stunning animals have been killed like this. Maybe they were close to attacking kids and their owner couldn't afford to pay to get rid of them properly.’

The discovery comes just two weeks after a local newspaper reported an attack on local schoolboy Liam Maguire. Liam, 7, needed 20 stitches in his head after being savaged by a dog said to be an American Bulldog.

Mr Astill-Dunseith and dog warden Julie Nelder recovered the carcasses of the two-year-old white and tan bitches from a ditch in Fen Lane, Burton. They initially thought the animals had been beaten to death. But a post-mortem examination carried out by a vet suggested poisoning or a lethal injection as a more likely cause.

‘My initial thoughts were that these dogs had been subjected to some kind of head trauma,’ said Mr Astill-Dunseith. ‘But on closer examination there is no sign of injury. The blood round their heads has actually been vomited. We think they were dumped on the previous Sunday and we are not ruling out poisoning, although we strongly suspect they have been injected with something.’

Dog warden Julie Nelder said she was disgusted to find two dogs dumped in such a heartless way. ‘I came to see if the dogs were micro-chipped,’ she said. ‘Unfortunately they were not.’

Roger Ingamells, 60, a warden at Burton fishing pits, near where the dogs were found, said he could not believe the dogs had been killed and dumped. ‘It seems strange that they have been killed and dumped after all this hue and cry about Pit Bulls.’