A SHOCKED animal lover has described his horror at finding a dog buried alive in woods near his home.

Les Wood and his partner, Anne Jaggar, of Duke Wood Road in Clayton West, have now adopted the Patterdale terrier-type bitch after finding her under a pile of rocks and earth in Duke Woods.

Les, 61, said: “I think it’s disgusting.

“They should do the same thing to whoever did this and see how they like it.

“If we hadn’t found her she could have starved to death.’’

Les, a driver for Kirklees Council, was out walking his own dogs, Floss and Jess when he heard whimpering.

He said: “It kept starting then stopping.”

At first he thought there was a dog in distress somewhere, thinking someone might have tied it to a tree and left it.”

Les added: “We jumped over the stream and up the banking and Floss started sniffing a pile of rocks. I pulled one away and there she was.

“I couldn’t have left her there – it’s not in my nature.

“As soon as we got her out she ran to the stream for a drink.”

The couple took her to Denby Dale Vets on Wakefield Road.

She was wormed, spayed and given injections.

The couple have decided to take the four-year-old in and have named her Lucky.

“She had a lucky escape, so we thought that’s what we should call her,’’ said Les. “She’s doing fine now, she’s a very lovable dog.

“I can’t believe someone could do that to her.”

Marilyn Percy, a veterinary nurse at Denby Dale Vets, said Lucky was in quite good health when she was taken in.

“But if she had been there much longer she would have been a goner,” she added.

“I was flabbergasted. I’ve never heard of anything like this before.

“I think it’s absolutely disgusting. Even if they didn’t want the dog any more and couldn’t afford to bring it to us to be put to sleep, they could have called the RSPCA or the PDSA. It’s just callous.”

A spokeswoman for charity PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – said the guilty person needed help.

She said: “Animal abusers are cowards who take their anger out on the most defenceless beings available to them.

“The person responsible for this horrific crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, receive the maximum prison sentence and be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation followed by mandatory counselling.

“Research in psychology and criminology has proved that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals rarely stop there and often go on to commit crimes against humans.

“Anyone who has any information about the identity of the person or persons responsible for this crime should contact the police.”